Sachin Tendulkar said India should invite a pool of qualified foreign coaches so that they can train the Indian coaches with modern-day methods and facilities.
While the focus in India remains mostly on providing foreign training to the athletes, Sachin Tendulkar feels the country needs to have qualified coaches so that they can offer better training to the athletes.
Tendulkar, who is a member of the All India Council of Sports (AICS), said India should invite a pool of qualified foreign coaches so that they can train the Indian coaches with modern-day methods and facilities.
Tendulkar attended the third meeting of the AICS in New Delhi on Saturday and insisted on the need to provide good support staff for the athletes.
“We should get a large pool of qualified foreign coaches and their staff in our country. They should be entrusted to coach our coaches and train the support staff. They should be hired on long term basis so that by the time they go back, we should have a very strong bench-strength of the coaches, support staff and of course athletes,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the AICS, which is headed by Vijay Kumar Malhotra.
Tendulkar, who went to the recently-concluded Rio Olympics in his capacity as the Goodwill Ambassador for India's Olympic contingent, also added that there is a need to acknowledge and recognise the performances of those who are unable to finish on the podium despite their best efforts.
“Behind every successful sportsperson in the world, there is a core of committed support staff. We have the talent, we just need to spot them and polish them. Look at Dipa, Sakshi and Sindhu – they have proved that anyone can shine at the world stage provided they get the right support. We should not overlook others who give their best but are not able to finish on the podium,” said the former India skipper.
The AICS has urged the government to increase the budget for sports in India so that the athletes can prepare well for the upcoming international competitions.
Malhotra is expected to lead an AICS delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to seek a hike in the budget for sports.
