Coach par excellence

Bhupendra Singh Yadav, coach and deputy sports officer at the Kailash Prakash Sports Stadium in Meerut is training boxers who can win medals for the country

T P Venu

It is 4: 30 a.m. in Meerut. Bhupendra Singh Yadav, 41, an International Boxing Association (IBA) two-star coach is heading to the Kailash Prakash Sports Stadium where he would spend the next couple of hours overseeing the boxing hopefuls go through the rigour at the sports hostel. There are 44 hostels in UP, out of which three in Meerut for cricket, wrestling and boxing.

By 10 a.m. he is back at the office donning the role of deputy sports officer and post lunch he is back with the boys training them, giving tips, pepping them up for the arduous road ahead and creating a specific programme for each boxer. In a nutshell, life revolves around coaching and preparing budding boxers.

Many past boxing champions get muddled in administrative work and lose interest in coaching, Bhupendra Singh is an exception. The All India University medalist from Lucknow University and senior national player, was posted as deputy sports officer at Meerut in 2015 and since then has trained hundreds of boys who brought laurels not just to the state but to the country. Till date, he mentored more than 30 national medalists and five internationals.

What makes him strive so hard we ask?
Pat comes the reply, “The sheer joy of producing boxers of quality and seeing them settle in life.” Citing an example, he says Ismit Singh came to the sports hostel as a 13-year-old in 2015 and by 2021 he got an appointment directly as a TC in Indian Railways. Bhupendra reads a lot and upgrades himself, a B PEd and an M Phil. In 2004, he took a diploma in NIS coaching.

Widely experienced, Bhupendra was the assistant coach to the Youth National Team between 2006 and 2013. In 2008, he took a team to Cuba. When asked what are the changes during his playing days and now, he says, “The present government is keen on developing sport. The Khelo India scheme is doing wonders as even bronze medalists are sent abroad for exposure which was never the case in the past.” He further adds, “There were no air-conditioned facilities and few centres but now the perception towards sports is changing.”

One of the reasons why people do not take up sport is the lack of jobs but Bhupendra says, “Railways, Police, Bank of India, para military forces, Income Tax to name a few appoint boxers.”

Even as we speak, Bhupendra gets a call from Aditya Pratap Yadav just over 18 years in age who is a silver medalist at the national level who is heading to the airport for Kazakhstan for an international championship. “I see a future Olympian in him. He came to us in 2015 as a 13-year-old from Agra. This boy will go places, just wait and watch,” he quips as he signs off.

Bhupendra Singh Yadav: Boxing coach and deputy sports officer at Kailash Prakash Sports Stadium, Meerut

Age: 41
Qualification: B.PEd., M.Phil.
International Boxing Association (IBA) two-star coach

Highlights

• Mentored more than 30 national medalists and five internationals
• Assistant coach to the Youth National Team 2006-2013
• In 2008, he took a team to Cuba