Far away from the city, they have been quiet achievers, never really hogging the limelight despite scripting some of the success stories in weightlifting from Telangana Sports School (earlier AP Sports School) at Hakimpet.
Even the institution where 17 of the existing 32 weightlifters are international medallists has never got the recognition it deserves.
The two gentlemen, P. Manikyala Rao and Soraisam Achou Singh, have every reason to sport a big smile on Friday evening when one of their trainees, Ragala V. Rahul, won the gold in the Commonwealth Games in the 85kg category.
“This is the biggest moment not just for Rahul but for all of us here at the Sports School,” exclaimed a delighted Rao who, along with Singh, have honed the skills of many international medallists in the last two decades.
Interestingly, it was Rao who first spotted Rahul, born in Stuartpuram (Guntur, AP), at a School Games meet where he finished fourth in his age group in Amudalavalasa (hometown of Karnam Malleswari) in 2005 and ensured that he got admission in the Sports School soon because of the promise he showed.
Hard worker
“We always knew he is going to make it big because, from childhood, he has been level-headed, very disciplined and always motivated to keep improving. Most importantly, he put in hours of hard work, sometime, all alone in the school,” recalled Singh, whose passion for coaching remains undiminished even though he had retired long back.
Ironically, while Rao is paid a meagre ₹20,800, Singh gets ₹12,200 per month. And the weightlifters use the same equipment which was bought for the 2002 National Games! “But we must thank our special officer Dr. K. Narsaiah for always supporting despite all odds,” they said.
Reflecting on Rahul’s golden performance at Gold Coast, both Rao and Singh said Rahul is capable of a much better performance. “For someone who set records in winning the Senior Commonwealth championship gold last year, it could have been still better,” they said, hoping for some financial rewards for their efforts over the years.
