Dronacharya Award: To make athletes and coaches apply for National Sports Awards is wrong, says Deepali Deshpande

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Like the proverbial stirring the hornet's nest, rifle coach Deepali Deshpande has opened up, finally.

In an exclusive interview with MyKhel on Saturday, Deepali said she is shocked that celebrated athletes and coaches who have delivered for the nation have to 'beg' for the National Sports Awards.

"I was shocked to read even someone like Rahul Dravid has possibly not been recognised for the Dronacharya Award. It is not just about winning one ICC World Cup, what about all the mentoring and work Dravid has done with junior cricketers," thundered Deepali.

Back to her own case, this is the first time she has opened up. "Even when coaches were chosen for the Paris 2024 Olympics, I never said anything. I hate this term personal coach and private coach. We are all working for the nation, the country. If my boy Swapnil Kushale calls me his second mother, it is because of respect. What he said after winning a bronze medal in Paris 2024 Olympics is the real award for me. Having said that, this whole concept of applying for an award is wrong. I mean, does Manu Bhaker have to apply for a Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. Does winning two medals in the Olympics not make her an automatic choice. Do not humiliate our athletes," said an upset Deepali.

Back to her own case, Deeepali said the Dronacharya Award is about national recognition. "I have worked with all these shooters for so long. If, today, Swapnil, Anjum Moudgil, Arjun Babuta and so many more rifle shooters have endorsed me as their coach, it's because of the system. I have been a national coach, I have worked with the juniors for so long. And I have also worked with the Madhya Pradesh state academy. It is one thing for a private organisation to select an athlete or coach for an award, that's their choice. But the National Sports Award is one of honour. When I got the highest state award from Maharashtra, I was touched a few months back," said Deepali.

When Swapnil Kushale won a bronze medal in Chateauroux, he called Deepali and was crying on the phone at the Paris 2024 Olympics. "She is my coach and like my second mother," he said. That a lot of canvassing goes on for a Dronacharya Award is a wrong policy. Even Rohit Sharma's coach Dinesh Laad and Virat Kohli's coach Raj Kumar Sharma had to get attestations from these star cricketers. The whole system in place is wrong, inviting applications. It has also been misused by some coaches and athletes. If you go through the history of Dronacharya Award winners, more than one Olympic medal ensured multiple coaches won this award! Naming them would be disrespect, but people know it.

How come the coach applying for a Dronacharya Awards has to ask his or her trainee for an affidavit on a stamped paper? This system is flawed. It is like asking a coach to prove what work he or she did. "How many years I have spent in training boys and girls the shooters and I know. People were pushing me, press for your case and go to Paris. No, that's not me, my trainees know how to prepare for the competition on their own. At the same time, nobody can dispute how much effort Jaspal Rana put in for Manu Bhaker. It's wrong, the way the system is working. Every coach is working for the nation. I have been doing it for decades, so don't think I am a personal coach or private coach. I have no information on the Dronacharya Award," ended Deepali.

In Paris, chef de mission Gagan Narang kept saying: "Deepali should have been here." Hope that establishes her credentials further.