New Delhi, August 24:  Bhawani Mukherji, who will be a recipient of the prestigious Dronacharya Award for lifetime achievement on August 29, richly deserves the honour. And it has come at the right time for the long-time table tennis coach of the country who retired this April from the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Known for his meticulous planning, Mukherji has plotted many a medal-winning performance by our paddlers in several international competitions since the 80s. Besides holding a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, the affable 60-year-old has a diploma in coaching obtained from the National Institute of Sports (NIS).

Beginning his career as coach with NIS, Patiala, Mukherjee has churned out several top paddlers currently appearing on the national scene. A smooth operator that he is, Mukherjee has been the national coach of table tennis for more than three decades.

Under his stewardship, our paddlers, particularly the juniors, have tasted a string of success in competitions abroad, with the notable among them being the Commonwealth Games gold medals by the men’s team in 2004 Kuala Lumpur, gold by girls team at World Cadet Championships in South Africa in 2007, the Commonwealth Youth Games at Pune in 2008 where Indian boys and girls won gold in singles and doubles, to name a few.

There are several other Asian medals won by our men and women teams besides the boys and girls squads winning a bagful of the silverware in various other meets. Mukherji’s teaching methods, at NIS to aspiring coaches has been admired by his wards who are teaching the game to youngsters in several states. And what makes him a most-suited coach for youngsters is his knack for spotting the minutest flaws in players and ironing them out quickly.

The soft-spoken coach would often say that the earlier one corrects the mistakes, the better it will be for the player to grow. “Since old habits die hard, the youngsters need to be guided properly with the right measure of training. They pick up a certain shots which are better avoided but they tend to repeat them, often putting themselves in difficult situations. This is where the coach has to play his role to perfection,” says Mukherji.

Mukherji says the best achievement by his team was when India won the gold in men’s doubles, silver in women team, bronze medals in men’s singles and women’s doubles at the 2010 CWG. “The boys and girls have been training for the home CWG hard since 2006 and I was immensely happy when they picked those medals a home,” he says. But he considers the team bronze won by his boys at the World Juniors at Bahrain, the first in Indian table tennis history, very close to his heart.

Now part of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) think-tank, Mukherji not only strategizes the future programmes of the senior paddlers-chalking out their trips abroad which include training schedules at different centres in China as well as Europe-but also shapes the juniors’ career in the game, besides seeing the execution of the year-long plans. “Learning is a process. We all learn a thing or two every day. I too try and observe foreign teams, watch videos about their coaching methods and how the players adapt themselves. I try to pass on the knowledge acquired so that the players benefit,” adds Mukherji.

On being nominated for the Dronacharya award, Mukherji says he has had a satisfying career as a coach. “For me, the award is a wonderful recognition and will be an eye-opener for the entire fraternity of coaches. It will encourage them to look ahead and work with certain devotion. In my case, the hard work has paid,” he says. “But I must thank several people along the way who gave me the opportunity to serve as national coach,” he adds.

That is a wonderful message, coming as it does from a gentleman coach, for the newer set of coaches to emulate.