Breaking Barriers: Inspiring Women Coaches in Indian Sports
Women sports coaches in India have been paving the way for a bright future for girls in sports. From developing grassroots-level talent to heading national teams to victory on the global level, sportswomen coaches prove excellence and encourage athletes to be their best. Their willingness to do whatever it takes to reach the heights of the game serves as a powerful role model and helps other athletes overcome their fears and promote equal opportunities.
Sunil Dabas, Maymol Rocky, and Deepali Deshpande are notable sports coaches in India, making tremendous strides in leading kabaddi, football, and shooting teams, respectively. Let’s explore their stories and celebrate womanhood.
Sunil Dabas is regarded as a leading coach of the Indian women’s national Kabaddi team. From 2005 when she joined the team to the present, India has won seven gold medals in Kabbadi international championships. Among these trophies are the 2010 Asian Games and the 2012 Women's Kabaddi World Cup. For the exceptional skills that she used while coaching, she was awarded the Dronacharya Award in 2012, which marked her remarkable contribution to sports coaching. Sunil Dabas was the recipient of Padma Shri in 2014 which is one of Indian greatest civilian awards and is awarded for achievement in the area of Kabaddi. She was also awarded the Sports Women Achiever Award 2014 from the Haryana Government. She is not only the first woman coach from Haryana but also among the few female coaches across the country who are being awarded for their outstanding performance in sports.
Maymol Rocky is a renowned Indian football manager and a former player of the sport. She is right now serving as a head coach of India's women's under-20 national team. But the surprising thing is that she was the first female person in history who get the job as a head coach of the women’s national football team of India. Mayumol's journey into this sport began at athletics but the love for football brought her to Goa to play for it in the National Championships in 2000. At the age of only 17, she was there at the 2001 AFC Women's Championship held in Chinese Taipei. This was her first-ever international tournament. Being appointed head coach of the national women's team in 2018, she led them to win the 2019 SAFF Women's Championship and conquered the women's football gold at the South Asian Games which also occurred in 2019 the same year. In January 2023, the leading lady became the head coach of the Indian women’s under-20 national team.
Deepali Deshpande who was born on the 3rd of August 1969, in Mumbai, is an Indian sport shooter and also a coach of shooting. However, she took the decision herself that she would only be working towards training her students after the Tokyo Olympics. At the same time, her determination was constantly growing. It was her great work that led to the quota choice of the Indian sports team, among which five of her cadets, for the 2024 Paris Olympics. These trainees comprise Swapnil Kusale, Akhil Sheoran, Shriyanka Sadangi, Sift Kaur Samra, and Arjun Babuta among others. Deepali’s invaluable contribution began in 2012 as she came to shape India’s junior shooting program. The many shooters (including Anjum Moudgil) who won a silver medal at the 2018 World Championships are only a few of her successes. Deepali's whole-heartedness and expertise in the field have made the latter a crucial player in the development of talent and the execution of victories at the international level.
She won the silver medal in the rifle shooting tournament at the 2004 Asian Shooting Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and she was chosen to represent India at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing 19th.
Galina Petrovna Bukharina, born on February 14, 1945, in Russia, is a Soviet track athlete. he became an expert in the 100-meter and 4x100-meter relay competitions during her sporting career. Having completed her career as a competitor, she shifted into coaching where the coach worked with the national team of the Soviet Union for more than 17 years. Galina had great achievements as a coach, especially with the Soviet women's relay team of 4x400 meters, which broke the world record of 3 min. 15.17 sec. at the 1988 Olympics. Later after being in the United States for some time, she concentrated on coaching at Texas State University. In 2018, at 72 years of age, she was named the team coach of the Indian national team in specialization of the 400 meters and relay events. Her leading athletes like Hima Das and Mohammad Anas to success, Hima Davis in 2018 being World Junior Champion and she is also a national records holder, Mohammad Anas has won several medals at international events triumphing to break national records too.
Their dedication, expertise, and accolades are universal. Not only do they aspire role models for Indian women, but they are also world leaders in their fields of sports coaching. By being good role models, they have not only brought much-needed medals for their nation but have also opened the doors for many other girls and women to play in sports. It is high time to acknowledge and assist them on their road towards equality and achievement.