Sports coaching centres see new enrolments after 7 Olympics medals spark renewed interest

Chennai

“For nearly two years, people were scared to send their children to sports academies because of the pandemic. But after the Olympics, parents are more interested in enrolling children. They even enquire if there is any coaching for javelin, which is very rare in the city,” said Venkatesan Kamalakannan, a coach who also owns Future champz sports academy in Nungambakkam.

“There still are concerns about social distancing and masks, but we are glad to see the increase in the number of children after Olympics,” he added.

Other coaches said many were motivated to join following the success of Indian sports persons, and more children have evinced interest, as it is the best option to stay fit and healthy during the pandemic.

“The number of students joining the academy has gone up by 10 per cent. We didn’t expect to have so many students coming forward, especially in athletics, just a week after Olympics. Many are motivated to achieve in the international arena,” said Chandra Bose, an athlete coach in Pallavaram.

Meanwhile, coaches in rural areas said they were concerned that not many are interested in sports like weightlifting.

“Even though India won a silver medal in weightlifting, we still don’t witness people showing up to get trained for weightlifting. Students are more interested in athletics, javelin, boxing and silambam. But we are still happy to see that they are joining in some sports after the Olympics,” said Muthukumar, a weightlifting coach in Pudukkottai.