Crisis-hit coach is prepared to wait COVID out to train his students again
[ad_1]
Champion athlete’s academy was serving to poor youth get defence jobs earlier than it shut due to pandemic curbs
His dream to win an Olympic gold medal for India shattered by a quirk of destiny, athlete G. Hari Prasad of Madanapalle has later made it his life mission to train proficient children into champion athletes and assist them get into the Indian armed forces.
However, his plans have hit a roadblock, as COVID-19 pandemic has introduced all his actions to a halt, with no hope of revival in close to future because the presumed third wave is looming giant. But his spirit stays undeterred, and he is prepared to struggle until the top.
Mr. Prasad stood first in each 5,000 and 10,000 metres (under-20) for 4 consecutive years (2006-10) within the All India Inter-University Athletics meet. He additionally emerged victorious within the Andhra Pradesh State Athletics Association meets 5 instances throughout the identical interval. Having already marked the fourth place as soon as within the nationwide occasions, Mr. Prasad was assured of bagging an Olympic medal in the future.
However, destiny dealt a merciless blow to him in 2010. While on a cross-country close to Kolleru lake, he suffered a critical ligament tear in a single leg, which pressured him out of motion for a number of years. After finishing his B.P.Ed in 2012, he had to abandon job search and return dwelling to care for his ailing mom. Poverty and compulsion turned the previous athlete right into a farmhand for 5 years.
“I may not run for the nationals or Olympics. But I can train many talented youth not only for athletic meets, but also to join India’s defence forces. This goal can never vanish from my mind and it will haunt me to the grave,” Mr. Prasad says.
Successful initiative
In 2018, he began Hari Defence Academy at Madanapalle with a batch of eight youths hailing from poor households within the Rayalaseema area. Six of them acquired into the Army. The success introduced 18 enrolments in 2019 and all of them secured jobs – 16 within the Army and two within the Airforce. By 2019 September, Mr. Hari noticed a surge within the aspirants and the enrolments jumped to 60.
In February 2020, nevertheless, he suffered a blow as defence choices had been postpone indefinitely owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lecture rooms of his academy, the playgrounds and the hilly terrains in and round Madanapalle went abandoned.
Debt burden
In a span of two years, Mr. Prasad had to muster funds to the tune of ₹15 lakh to set up and preserve the academy. “Most students joining here are from poor families. Though I charged them ₹4,000 per month for boarding, lodging, indoor and outdoor training, and salaries to the staff, a large number of them could not afford it. But I never compelled them to pay. The training needs nutritious food too and I had to borrow funds from my friends and relatives to meet the shortfall. But COVID-19 drove away all my students,” laments Mr. Prasad.
For the final one and a half years, Mr. Prasad continues to be in misery to meet the ends. “But my determination to train talented youth will never get diluted. I am prepared to face any number of hungry nights. Good times will definitely come,” the spirited coach says.
[ad_2]
