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Comfort on the go
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Tom John, the affable travelling coach for badminton ace Anup Sridhar, believes in taking things one step at a time
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photo: K. Gopinathan
All-rounder Tom John: ’We are manager, coach, philosopher and guide’
Travelling coaches are a common phenomena in tennis, but in badminton they have been rare.Indian badminton ace, Anup Sridhar now has a travelling coach, Tom John.
John is no stranger to India. He last came to India in association with Pullela Gopi Chand’s Badminton Academy. John’s father was naval attaché in the Indian High Commission in London. Tom John stayed behind, completed his education and worked for a while in British Telecom and his interest in badminton also saw him play and win several tournaments before he turned his eyes to coaching.
John rose to become one of the noted coaches in the England Badminton Association and he trained several top-notch English players. He was also in charge of the High Performance Training Centre of the EBA and had a stint as National coach of Portuguese team.
Talking about coaching Anup, John says, “It is important for any good player, who wishes to make it big on the international circuit to have a travelling coach. The coach helps the player through rough patches and ensures that he stays fit. The coach helps with technique and practice as well as prepare better for a match. The coach also ensures the right schedule for the player, in terms of travel, tournaments and stay. In short, a travelling coach is a manager, coach, guide and philosopher.”
While on tour, a player after an early loss, tends to fritter away his time till the next event.
However, with a travelling coach, he stays focussed on the tournament and starts preparing better, John comments. “Our biggest goal is to ensure Anup plays at the Olympics We don’t have much time on hand. We want to ensure Anup gets into physical shape and makes the grade.”
While giving credit to his ward for his attitude, John says: “I want him to be more deceptive at net, work on his overhead shots and backhand defence.”
Anup’s big test comes next week, when he plays the Asian Badminton Championship, which is his first major event after his recent ankle injury that kept him out of action for nearly a fortnight.
“We have decided to go ahead with the tournament though he might feel some pain still. It would help us to judge how tough he is. If need be, he will play with pain killing shots.”
About Indian talent, John comments: “There are eight to 10 players who can certainly make the international grade. To help them attain such heights, one needs to have a proper plan. There should a separate training programme for seniors and juniors with a good mix of tournaments, camps and constant exposure to international competitions.”
John refused to comment on the prolonged training camps, saying it was a “contentious issue. If you are holding camp, it should be beneficial for the players. Players’ involvement and interest is important.”
In the international scene, John feels the current 25 point format game, gives an equal chance to all players. He puts down the Chinese dominance of the game to mumbers. “It is sheer volume of players, which makes them a dominant force.”
India too can build a strong base in the game, John comments . “In terms of population, India can match in China, but how they nurture young talent is more important.”
Though John has an outstanding record as coach in England, he rues the fact that he had never been coach of the senior team. “Perhaps, it because I am not English.” But he is happy with the way some of his wards including the current English champion, Amir Gafoor are faring. But he bemoans the fact that the number of singles players in England is on the wane.
“More and more players prefer to play doubles.”The current contract of training with Anup Sridhar, will run through September and before that John hopes to push his ward couple of notches up in the world ranking (currently Anup is ranked No. 24) and fine tune his game.
“We will leave it at that see how things shape up,” John says signing off with his customary grin.
KALYAN ASHOK
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