Top 10 most successful Indian coaches of all-time

These coaches have produced great talents under their mentorship.

An à can at maximum win two or three medals at the Olympics but a coach in his coaching span of two to three decades shall win more medals than the athletes and develop a sporting ecosystem for the future. In this article, let us discuss the top coaches who have trained athletes from India.

Nihar Ameen

Nihar Ameen has trained many international Indian swimmers like Vidharwal Khade, Shika Tandon, and Sejwal and all three have been part of the Olympics. From 1989-1992 Nihar served as an assistant coach under jack Nelson from the USA. In 2015, Nihar Ameen was awarded the Dhronancharya award.

Fernandez

Fernandez from Cuba is the first non-Indian Dronacharya awardee specializing in Boxing. The Cuban was with the Indian team for more than two decades after being hired in 1990. MC Mary Kom, who won a bronze medal in the women's section, was his student at the national camp for the London Olympics. Overall there were more than ten boxers who have played in the Olympics.

Robert Bobby George

Robert Bobby George specializes in Athletics and is the husband of India’s first World Athletics medallist Anju Bobby George. George in his playing days was into the Triple Jump but as a coach, he has developed his expertise in the Long Jump section.

He was the coach of Anju Bobby George since 2000 and now currently has his own academy named Anju Bobby George Academy in Bangalore. Shaili Singh won the silver medal at the U20 World Athletic Championships in 2021 and is a student of Robert.

Gaurav Khanna

Gaurav Khanna is the head coach of the Indian Para-Badminton team and has produced many Olympians. He is a qualified International Badminton Umpire, Referee and Match Control of the Badminton Association of India. 

The Indian Badminton contingent won four medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics including two gold medals. His coaching list includes players like Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar who have won many medals in BWF tournaments. Gaurav runs an academy in Uttar Pradesh named Gaurav Khanna Excellia Badminton Academy.

Park Tae Sang

The South Korean is the current coach of Indian star PV Sindhu. Park Tae Sang played 2004 Olympics but got knocked out in the quarterfinals. He joined the Indian coaching set-up in 2019 and has had a successful stint to date.

Park helped Sindhu win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. PV Sindhu has credited Park for her success since his inception in the coaching set-up.

Graham Reid

Graham Reid the Australian helped India win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics after more than three decades. Reid has a vast experience during his playing days representing Australia in 130 matches. Before joining the Indian team Graham Reid was the coach for the Australian and Netherlands team.

Baldev Singh

Baldev Singh the legendary hockey player has trained many captains from India including current Haryana sports minister Sandeep Singh and former Indian women’s captain Rani Rampal. In total Baldev has coached more than 90 odd players.

Satpal Singh

Satpal Singh won India’s third-highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan for both his successful playing and coaching career. In his playing career, Satpal Singh was the National Champion for 16 long years.

Apart from this, he has coached Sushil Kumar who is a two-time Olympic medal winner in 2008 and 2012. He was also part of the Chattrasal coaching academy in Delhi has been home to many famous wrestlers across India.

Ismail Baig

Ismail Baig has transformed Indian Rowing into a new dimension coaching many athletes who have won medals at the Asian Championships and the Asian Games. Sawarn Singh, Dattu Bhokanal, Arjun Jat and Arvind Singh all have represented India at the Olympics.

Pullela Gopichand

Pullela Gopichand the All-England Badminton winner has produced many badminton players and is one of the most decorated coaches from India. Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikkanth, and HS Praneeth are a few recognized Indian players to be coached by Gopichand.

Pullela Gopichand runs his own academy in Hyderabad. Dhruv Kapila an upcoming youngster credited Gopichand for his rise in form from the junior section.