Contracting Foreign Coaches For Indian Sports Teams

Scheme of Exchange of Sports and Physical Education Teams/Experts

The recruitment of foreign coaches to train Indian sports teams has had mixed results. Since, India began participating in international sports events, various foreign coaches have been recruited for training jobs in India. Whether cricket, football or hockey, foreign coaches have been contracted to train sports teams, and share new sports techniques.

The scheme for the exchange of sports and physical education teams/experts has enabled wide sharing of sporting skills. Under this initiative, the Central Government invites and hires foreign coaches for training various sports teams. These foreign coaches are usually paid air fare, salaries, travel allowance, medical expenses and local transportation.

Foreign coach Gary Kirsten being carried by Indian cricket team members

The Indian cricket team has had many foreign coaches. While John Wright and Greg Chappell were not very successful trainers, Gary Kirsten (of South Africa) was the coach that inspired the Indian cricket team to win the World Cup in 2011. Other foreign coaches that have trained Indian sports teams are Bob Houghton for football, Herman Kruis for the Indian women's hockey team, and Joaquim Carvalho for the men’s hockey team.

The Indian Government has continued to hire foreign coaches for disseminating better training to various sports teams, under the scheme for the exchange of sports and physical education teams/experts.

Sports Legends Of India

India is a country in which a variety of sports disciplines are practiced. The origins of many sports, such as karate, wrestling, hockey, archery, fencing and even weight-lifting, can be traced back to India too. Sports personalities or legends are sports persons who underwent rigorous training in the past, to perform outstandingly at the national and international level. There are numerous such sports legends in India, who have left an indelible mark in their respective sports disciplines.

The discipline of cricket has seen many sporting legends till date. Some of them are:

• Ajit Laxman Wadekar: He was a left-handed batsman, and scored 4,288 runs from 73 matches, during his tenure of 17 years. 
• Kapil Dev: He was one of the best bowlers and hitters of his time. During his time, he achieved the  world record of taking the highest number of wickets in test matches: a giant 432 wickets. Kapil Dev also captained the Indian cricket team, to a memorable victory in the 1983 World Cup.

Athletics also has many sporting legends, who have brought national and international laurels for the country. Two sports legends from the athletics are:

• Milkha Singh: Known as the 'flying sikh', Milkha Singh set up unbeatable track and field records in the National Games and Asian Games. Singh still holds a record of 20.7 seconds for the 200 meters race.
• Charles Borromeo: This athlete entered the sports hall of fame with his outstanding performance in the 800 meters race at the 9th Asian games. He also won the Arjuna Award in 1982, and the Padma Shri in 1984. 

Yet another sports discipline that witnessed legendary sports performances is hockey. One of the leading hockey legends in India is Dhanraj Pillai, who played at the center-forward position, in over 250 international  hockey tournaments, during his tenure of nine years. Dhanraj Pillai has received national honours like the Shiv Chhatrapati Award in 1991, the Arjuna Award in 1995, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1999, and the Padma Shri in 2001.

Sporting legends are role models for aspiring players, and have been known to inspire them to perform to great levels. Some of the other sports legends who have performed brilliantly at international tournaments, and went on to inspire generations include:

• Vishwanathan Anand in chess
• Dhyanchand in hockey
• Geet Sethi in billiards
• Kartar Singh in Wrestling
• Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in lawn tennis
• Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Bishen Singh Bedi in cricket
• PT Usha in athletics
• Baichung Bhutia and Peter Thangaraj in football
• Jaspal Rana and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in shooting. 

History Of Traditional Sports In India

The history of sports in India goes back to epic times. During those ages, physical fitness was given prime importance. The Hatha Yoga (of Vedic times) represented strength, stamina and ultimate control of body functions. The combination of meditation and physical movement was the core concept of every sport.

Many of the sports practiced today have their origins in ancient ndia. Wrestling in Vedic times was called Mall-Stambha, while weight-lifting was known as Bhrashram. Kalari Payattu is one of the oldest forms of martial arts in India. It was taken to China by a Shaolin Monk, and given the name of Wu-Shu, which was in turn changed to its present name of Karate in Japan.

During the era of the Rig-Veda (Ramayana and Mahabharata era), men were well-versed in chariot-racing, archery, military ploys, swimming, wrestling and hunting. Archery, the javelin (toran) and the discus (chakra) were frequently used during the Indus valley civilization (2500 - 1550 B.C). Swimming, sword-fighting (fencing, at present), wrestling and ball games were also immensely popular among the students of Nalanda and Taxila. The Pranayama or breathing control technique, which is an important feature of Taek-wan-do, Karate, Judo and Sumo wrestling, was one of the many techniques spread in the Far East by Buddhist pilgrims from India. In addition, Kabaddi is a traditional Indian sport that is more than 4000 years old.

Kirip is a form of wrestling, which is popular with the Nicobarese tribe. In this sport, wrestlers grip each other from behind, not loosening the grip till the end of the game. Dhopkhel is an ancient indigenous game of Assam. This game requires strong physical fitness-speed, stamina and acrobatic skills. It is played during the state's Spring Festival, known as Rangoli Bihu. Hiyang Tannaba (a boat racing sport) is the native game of Manipur, and is played during their vibrant festival of the Lai Haraoba. This seasonal game is played only by men.

Insuknawr or rod-pushing is an aboriginal game of Mizoram, which is played only by men. It has also been declared as the 'Mizo National Game' by the Mizoram State Sports Council (MSSC). This sport is a test of sheer strength and stamina. The Kang Shanaba is a native Manipuri game played on the day falling between Manipur's New Year Day and the Ratha Jatra festival. The kang literally means a round object, while the art of throwing or pushing it is called Kang Shanaba.

All of the above-mentioned games are ancient games of India, and reflect the importance of given to sports in India, since early times.