Only athletes who compete in front of the entire globe have a spot on the podium. However, there are always guiding hands and wise counsel available to demonstrate the route to a medal. The coaches who toiled behind the scenes to ensure their athletes’ success on the highest platform also owe a lot to the seven medals India earned in Tokyo.
Coaches of India’s medal-winning athletes
Uwe Hohn (Head Coach) & Dr Klaus Bartonietz (Biomechanical Expert)
Country: Germany
Athlete: Neeraj Chopra
Event: Javelin Throw
Medal: Gold
The body of the javelin thrower is like a bow, while the javelin is like an arrow. This is Dr. Bartonietz’s philosophy, and it likewise worked for Chopra like a charm. Bartonietz has a wealth of understanding about the event’s subtleties. He is also credited with making Chopra’s moves stronger while also being more stretchy. He was a key member of the team that created the javelin-specific workout devices that German throwers swear by.
Uwe Hohn was also one of the coaches who taught Chopra. Hohn is the only man to throw the spear over 100 meters when he won gold medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2018. In early 2019, he enlisted the help of Bartonietz. Both Germans had previously worked with China’s national squad.
Vijay Sharma (Chief National Coach)
Country: India
Athlete: Mirabai Chanu
Discipline: Weightlifting 49kg
Medal: Silver
Mirabai Chanu began working with Sharma, a former national champion, in 2014, the same year he was named head coach of the men’s Commonwealth Games team. Sharma’s personal weightlifting career was cut short due to a wrist injury. Throughout Chanu’s highs and lows, he has been a constant
Sharma, along with her mother, then talked her out of retirement thoughts after she failed to produce one legal lift in the clean and jerk at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sharma joined the national camp in 2012 after his home state of Uttar Pradesh, which he coached, won the national championship.
Kamal Malikov
Country: Russia
Athlete: Ravi Dahiya
Event: 57kg freestyle wrestling
Medal: Silver
Malikov was brought in to help Sushil Kumar qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. He reckoned to be a fitness trainer, sparring partner, and observer for India’s medalist. When that became impossible, Malikov was hired to assist Dahiya under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, which began in April 2021. Malikov was able to secure prime sparring partners for the Indian wrestler in Vladikavkaz
Following the 23-year-loss old’s in the gold medal match at the Poland Open, the 34-year-old coach and student resolved to improve response times and counter speed. Dahiya is a product of wrestling teacher Satpal Singh and the Chhatrasal Stadium set up in Delhi.
Shako Bentinidis
Country: Georgia
Athlete: Bajrang Punia
Event: 65kg freestyle wrestling
Medal: Bronze
After Bentinidis took over the reins of the 26-year-old, Bajrang rose to become one of the best wrestlers in the 65kg division. Bentinidis, one of the most energetic coaches, has helped Bajrang find sparring partners from the United States and Russia. As a result, the Haryana wrestler searched the globe for wrestlers who could assault him quickly.
The goal is to strengthen his leg defense, which is still a weakness, as well as his reaction times. While not ideal, Bentinidis’ influence has resulted in advancements in Bajrang’s weaponry, as well as an Olympic bronze medal.
Raffaele Bergamasco (High Performance Director)
Country: Italy
Athlete: Lovlina Borgohain
Event: Women’s welterweight boxing
Medal: Bronze
Bergamasco, the son of an Olympian, was a five-time national champion and served as one of the coaches in the Beijing, London, and Rio Olympics. He took over the senior and junior men’s teams after directing the Italian women’s team from 2001 to 2007, contributing to six Olympic gold.
After a disappointing performance in Rio, he was released and moved to India in 2017, where he then led India to its best-ever medal haul in the Youth Boxing Championships (five gold, two bronze). He was then elevated to the high-performance director for senior women a month later.
Park Tae-Sang
Country: South Korea
Athlete: PV Sindhu
Event: Women’s singles badminton
Medal: bronze
Sindhu’s style is a blend of strength and dexterity, and she regularly outclassed opponents. To win consistently against the best players in the world, she needed more variety and dimensions. Enter Park, a Korean coach who had sculpted athletes like Sung Ji-Hyun, whose on-court movement was as fluid as a swan in still water. Park not only gave Sindhu confidence in her stride, but he also put in long hours on her defense, which was always a target due to her rangy build.
Sindhu’s game at the net will also benefit from his presence. Sindhu expertly engaged with Akane Yamaguchi and didn’t shy away from the dribbles in Tokyo, where she would previously swipe at the shuttle and raise copiously to move the battle away from the forecourt. The smash-tap required opponents to dig deep, which also worked in the Indian’s favor most of the time. Park was also stimulated, which gives Sindhu a lot of energy.
Graham Reid
Country: Australia
Team: Men’s hockey
Medal: Bronze
Reid’s stay with the Indian squad was a chance for him to atone for his role as coach of Australia when they were out of the Rio Olympics in the quarterfinals after a 4-0 thumping by the Netherlands. He has shifted the team’s mentality, making them less prone to costly mistakes at inopportune times.
Reid’s role was to lift the squad after the semifinal loss to Belgium, and India provided one of their most stirring displays in a long time in the bronze-medal playoff against Germany. Reid ensured the team didn’t panic following the 7-1 thrashing by Australia earlier in the competition, and that they played on an equal footing with all teams. He has also hardened up the team. History will remember him as the man who led India to the Olympic podium in hockey after a 41-year absence.
