Coaching, Like Teaching, Is A Thankless Job: Vimal Kumar

The former National badminton champion feels that players should take more responsibility and be less dependent on mentors

- N. Sudarshan

Despite a successful playing career, U. Vimal Kumar never received the Arjuna award. However, after over two decades spent coaching and grooming players such as P. Gopi Chand, Aparna Popat and P. Kashyap at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy here, there is recognition finally in the form of the prestigious Dronacharya award.

The 57-year-old spoke to The Hindu ahead of Thursday’s awards ceremony. Excerpts

Your thoughts on the award?

I am quite happy with it. I wasn't expecting it and wasn’t even aware that the process was on. But everybody likes recognition and I am no different.

You didn’t get the Arjuna Award as a player. So how important or big is this?

I have always felt that awards shouldn’t be asked for. Back then, BAI wasn’t very happy with me shifting to England for a majority of my playing career. I still played for India for nearly 14 years, including the Olympics and Asian Games. But somehow it didn’t work.

When I was young, I felt bad, but [not now]. Even if I had not received the Dronacharya, it wouldn’t have affected me because it is all for just one week and then it is forgotten.