A professional judo coach, Jitendra Singh of Belagavi is the man behind rural talent Malaprabha Jadhav who recently won the bronze medal in kurash (a form of judo) in the Asian Games in Jakarta. After spotting Malaprabha in 2009 in Belagavi, Singh trained her relentlessly since then in kurash/judo and produced an international athlete. His hardwork and professional training helped Malaprabha, who hails from tiny Turmuri village near Belagavi evolve into a judo champion with an ability to defeat some of the world-class kurash/judo players.
On the eve of Teachers Day, Singh spoke to TNIE. Excerpts from the interview:
Why did you choose to be a trainer/coach?
I was a professional judo player and always wanted to shape my career in this sports as a young sportsman. Later, my coach suggested me to become a professional coach rather than continuing as a player. He saw that I can be a better coach than a player.
How important is a coach?
When I came to Belagavi in early 2000, judo was not a popular sport at all. My wife is also a professional judo coach and was a reputed national judo player earlier. We together approached the government to have facilities for judo in Belagavi as the district had many young judo players with an ability to excel at the top level. In 2002, the government constructed a hostel for judo players in Belgavi. And since then, we have been able to produce 450 national medallists and 35 international judo players from the same hostel. Malaprabha had come to take an award at a function where my wife was the chief guest in 2009. Then she was into kho-kho. When my wife asked her to practice judo, she readily agreed.
Your take on India’s rural talent
India has a huge potential in rural belts. Government and private bodies must create awareness about sports.
