With the Sports Authority of India (SAI) not granting him a contract extension, Olympian Bahadur Singh’s 25-year reign as the chief coach of Indian athletics has come to an end. A former Asian Games shot put gold medallist, the 74-year-old’s finest moment as chief coach came in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games where India won 20 medals, including eight gold.
“We will always remember the immense contribution Bahadur made, first as a shot putter of repute and then as chief coach since February 1995,” Adille Sumariwalla, the president of the Athletics Federation of India, said.
“The COVID-19 outbreak forced the postponement of Tokyo 2020. He resigned in the wake of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ advisory restricting movement of senior citizens.”
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Radhakrishnan Nair, the deputy chief coach, is the favourite to succeed him.