Arun Vishnu latest Indian badminton coach to quit set-up for financial reasons | Badminton News
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were on the brink of entering the Top 10, and coach Arun Vishnu had poured his entire effort and mindspace into getting the duo to click, bringing them till there, when he decided to bow out.“I wish they were World No.9 a few weeks ago,” he said in mock-rueing, but laughing as the women’s doubles pair cracked the Top 10 this week. “But it’s a good feeling to have helped them, starting from scratch,” the silent worker who supervised every training session till the 2023-end World Tour Finals, said.
But financial and family commitments dictated that he move away from the final stage of their ascent to the Top 10. “I will miss coaching at the top level but then again, we have to take care of our families,” he would say, speaking from Nagpur, where he has relocated to restart batches for beginners, intermediate and advanced, at a soon-to-be opened academy.
The 36-year-old former doubles special from Calicut, one of the home-grown coaching success stories, has taken a step back, more forced than a tactical one. But with his new academy, the first big formal set-up in the Vidarbha region for badminton, he hopes to put to use everything he learnt at Hyderabad.
February end, the facility will be up in Nagpur, and from March, Arun will start coaching on the five courts, with a gym and a sponsor equipment shop attached. A lot happened at the same time. Married to Nagpur shuttler Arundhati Pantwane, the couple is expecting their second child. “Arundhati’s dad is ageing and was alone in Nagpur. Travelling full-time wasn’t possible. I had been thinking of moving since August. Indian coaches don’t get paid much, and my permitted leave for coaching at the national camp from the PSU was exhausted. I didn’t want to go to any other place (academy) other than Gopi sir, so I decided on starting an academy in Nagpur,” he explained.
Former internationals – Arun played mixed and men’s doubles on the circuit till a few years ago – are allowed a year’s leave without pay, to set up academies. And Arun reckoned he was ready for the plunge, though the facility had to be rented and kitted out.
“Vidarbha has a lot of talent, but there isn’t a structured academy here. I will encourage youngsters to play both singles and doubles till 17.”
Money matters
Arun had watched plenty of coaches seek well-paying jobs, mostly in the US, and explained the difficulties in being a home-grown coach in India, with a package of just Rs 50,000, paid the Sports Authority of India and PSUs for coaching even elite players.
Known foreign names get paid $8000-10000, according to PTI, and Arun told the news agency, “Indian coaches are not paid even one-fourth.”
Another Indian player-turned-coach had told The Indian Express that salary hold-ups were common and permissions from employers could take time, which offered no confidence to Indians to focus exclusively on professional coaching, even if the results desired were the same as those from foreign names. Arun had substantial backing from P Gopichand while bringing Treesa-Gayatri to a certain level, but not everyone could micro-manage elite careers, while managing to take care of the family too.
“If we have to retain and nurture Indian coaches, they must be backed financially,” the outgoing coach would say, adding that a move was underway to raise salaries. With Tan Kim Her coming in, Treesa-Gayatri will be well looked after, though Arun says his start from scratch should throw up talent from the untapped central Indian region.
“Nagpur has always had talent like Mumbai, Thane and Pune. Just the structure was missing. The city is nice, it just gets too hot in summer,” he joked, saying he has ribbed Arundhati often over the baking summers.
He was hopeful his old charges would begin to toss up good results, though they already boast of 9 wins over Top 10 pairs in various competitions with Arun sitting for their matches. “The Asian Team Championship gold was very good for Gayatri and Treesa. They just have to keep working hard. They are capable of being in the Top 5 soon, and win Super 500 upwards tournaments. The best thing about Treesa is her aggression and Gayatri is very cool on court,” he ended.
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