Judo centre in spotlight as players make their mark
Sandwiched between the Ravi and Beas rivers, Gurdaspur is known for the Kartarpur corridor as well as for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Judo Training Centre. The city is situated close to the International Border, from where drug consignments are recovered every now and then.
Till now, the judo coaching centre has produced nearly 40 international and over 100 national-level players. This is no mean feat considering the fact that the city lacks a sports culture.
In recent months, six players have made the judo centre proud. Once a new trainee enters the gymnasium hall, coach Amarjit Shastri and his deputy Ravi Kumar drill two significant things into his or her mind. One, not to hesitate and hence start now. “Because if you had started doing anything two weeks ago, by today you would have been two weeks better at it,” they say. The second mantra from the coaches is: “You will be missing 100 per cent of the shots you do not take. This, in effect, means you will be a failure if you do not try.”
The boys practice on a mat which has outlived its utility. The coaches are unable to buy a new one because it costs Rs 12 lakh. That is an astronomical sum for them. They are looking for a philanthropist who can buy them one. The wait is getting agonisingly longer, but the coaching goes on.
Raghu Mehra is a fatherless young player. He lives off money given by his elder brother. Obviously, that is sparse. He announced his arrival last year at the junior school nationals (U-17) held in Ludhiana where he won a gold. He followed it up by winning a silver at the junior school nationals. He is now set to participate in the Khelo India Games to be held in May.
Manav Sharma has fine-tuned his technique in recent months. He has performed well at the Junior Asian Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He now looks forward to the Asian and Commonwealth championships.
Karanjit Singh Mann, an ASI in the Punjab Police, did well in the All-India Police Games held in Guwahati last year. He has now earned a spot in the Indian team, which is slated to take part in the World Police and Fire Games in Alabama, US, in June. That, his coaches say, will be his acid test.
Sarabjit Singh, a constable in the SSB, did well in the World Police Games in Winnipeg in 2023. His coaches are working on his grappling and throwing techniques.
Nitin Kumar won a gold medal in the All India Inter-University Games held in Amritsar in February. His peers say he has a good temperament and a matching technique, which is bound to take him places. Gurpreet Singh won a gold in the All India Inter-University meet held in Amritsar in February. Last year, too, he had won a gold in the same championship. He also did exceedingly well in Khelo India Games in Guwahati.
Coaches often tell their pupils the stories of sportspersons who rose from poverty to make a name for themselves. This sermon is given because a majority of judokas belong to poor families. They are told that poverty is not in any way a hindrance to success.
Coach Ravi Kumar, who has trained the junior national team, sets high goals for his disciples. His best lines are: “If you are beaten ten times, get up eleven times. Let your dreams lead you, not your problems.”
Punjab