The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : Mohd. Ghouse — driven by passion for the sport

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Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010
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Mohd. Ghouse — driven by passion for the sport

V.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD: It may sound incredible but it is a fact that the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) runs only two athletics academies in the State — one in Khammam for boys and another in Nellore for girls, leaving the world-class infrastructure at Gachibowli Complex in Hyderabad largely unused.

But these things have never been an issue for a dedicated coach — Mohammed Ghouse — now in-charge at the Khammam academy. And if his most famous trainee, Abdul Najeeb Qureshi, sprints to a medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games next month, the coach might justifiably be the focus of media glare.

Ghouse's optimism is a reflection of his commitment levels even though the only facility he has is a ‘training' 400 metre sand track at the DSA Stadium.

Training Qureshi

The 43-year-old ‘consolidated category' coach of SAAP has been specialising in sprints for the last 15 years. He first spotted Qureshi during a junior inter-district meet in Mahabubnagar and immediately roped him into the Academy.

The rest is history as Qureshi is now a familiar name, having won a ‘double' in the 100m and the 200m at the Open National meet in Kochi this May, thereby enhancing his growing reputation. Now, Qureshi is training along with others in Ukraine for the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

“Qureshi has speed and energy and is ideally suited for sprints,” says Ghouse of his famous ward, who was also a silver medallist in the second All Stars Asian meet in Bhopal (2009) in the 100m and a gold medallist in the 2010 SAF Games in 200m. He also bagged two silver medals (100m and 4x100m) in the same meet.

What makes coach Ghouse special is his unbridled passion to give a boost to the sport from which he himself got little support when he was a young athlete.

“I know what an athlete requires. It is not just the infrastructure but a caring touch with a heart to constantly eradicate the minor flaws, if any,” he says.

Unnoticed

Ghouse's contribution to Indian athletics is almost unnoticed despite the fact that seven of his boys have represented India and won three gold, three silver and two bronze medals in international meets, not to mention the medals won in the National circuit.

Another of his joyful moments was when he topped the SAAP coaches evaluation test, organised under the aegis of experts from LNCPE (Gwalior).

At a time, when many coaches hog the limelight without actually achieving much, Ghouse stands apart from the rest of the crowd. What he dreams of now is seeing his ward win a gold in the Commonwealth Games, and get his own services regularised in the SAAP.

“Doesn't he deserve even this small gesture for his big feats in the world of athletics?” asks K. Ranga Rao, AAF vice-president.

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