The ‘golden show’ by E. Deexita, brothers duo of R. Rahul and R. Varun, all from Telangana Sports School (Hakimpet) near here, in the recent Commonwealth weightlifting championship in Gold Coast (Australia) is a reminder of the passion and commitment of the weightlifting coach, P. Manikyala Rao, in the TSS.
A kind of performance with which the 47-year-old Rao, who has been working in tandem with the more experienced S.A. Singh in the sports school for close to two decades now, has every reason to be proud of. For, he contributed to the success stories of more than 30 international medallists so far and quite aptly given cash incentive of ₹ 3 lakh for his efforts by Telangana Sports Minister T. Padma Rao Goud.
Interestingly, Rao owes his coaching career to former SAI coach K. Amarnath and weightlifting federation official Badeti Venkatramaiah.
"From the open selections done at mandal, district and State-levels, we pick the best for sports school admissions. Then, after two years of physical conditioning, we identify the discipline which suits a particular student and groom the talent.
Previous performances from students of Andhra region are a huge inspiration for the current crop,” explained Rao, who was also attached to the Indian camp earlier.
For a contract coach getting ₹ 22,000 monthly salary, Rao is not the one to complain about this though he would obviously like it to be hiked on par with those who joined service much later and getting better pay scales.
But, more importantly, Rao and Singh ensure that the weightlifters continue to hog the limelight with the old equipment bought in the year 2000 and despite repeated requests to the higher authorities for latest equipment and relocation of the training hall with better facilities failing to evoke the desired response.
"You may call it madness. But the passion to see our boys and girls do well in international meets sweeps all other areas of concern for us," says the soft-spoken Rao while gently reminding that even now in some cases it is the parents who take care of the diet of their children as the ₹ 120 diet allowance per head given in the School is not sufficient.
Clearly, scripting success stories defying all odds in a quiet manner.
