Mahindra Scorpio TOISA: P Gopichand, Bisheshwar Nandi declared joint winners for Mentor of the Year Award

MUMBAI: Dronacharya Award winners Pullela Gopichand and

Bisheshwar Nandi

were announced joint winners of the

TOISA Mentor of the Year Award

at the Mahindra Scorpio

Times of India Sports Awards

held in Mumbai on Monday.

Among the four new categories introduced at TOISA this year, the Mentor of the Year Award was shared between the two men who made a huge impact on Indian sport last year. Under Gopichand's tutelage, PV Sindhu won the biggest prize in Indian badminton, a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, while Nandi, known by many as the father of gymnastics in India, is the man responsible for the emergence of Dipa Karmakar.

Sindhu was named Sportsperson of the Year and Badminton Player of the Year, and Dipa bagged the Gymnast of the Year and Inspiration of the Year prize for their success at the Rio Olympics.

"There are so many factors that go into an individual's success in sports, and often they are not recognized," said former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, part of the five-member TOISA jury. "Bisheshwar Nandi and Gopi are two contrasting examples of the pursuit of excellence. On the one hand you have Gopi, who after retiring as a widely respected badminton player, has gone on to forge an institution in Hyderabad where champions are made. Then you have Bisheshwar Nandi, who comes from a remote part of India like Tripura, and gets no limelight or attention, but battles the system to nurture a talent like Dipa Karmakar. That is remarkable. If today Agartala is seen as the home of Indian gymnastics, that is credit to Nandi."

Former All-England Open winner Gopichand has in recent years become synonymous with success. Having coached Saina Nehwal to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, he oversaw Sindhu's stunning run to the final of the women's single badminton event in Rio last year, where she won a silver to outdo Saina's achievement from four years earlier. Since he retired from the sport, Gopichand has focussed his energies on scouting for young badminton talent who can raise India's flag globally. In January 2017, Gopichand was named as part of the PM-approved task force to prepare a detailed action plan for the next three Olympic Games.

TOISA jury member Rajesh Kalra, the Chief Editor of Times Internet and also part of the task force, said of Gopichand: "You won't see a more dedicated yet understated gentlemen in Indian sport. Gopichand's work ethics and integrity are spotless and he understands thoroughly what it takes to breed champions. Saina Nehwal and Sindhu are shining examples of that."

Nandi, a five-time national champion, is the man responsible for Dipa pulling off the Produnova vault. He spotted it during the London Olympics and decided to make Dipa perfect the move over a period of time. At her maiden Olympics, n which she became India's first gymnast at the Summer Games in 52 years, the 23-year-old qualified for the vault final were she finished fourth in the vault final with a score of 15.006 - well past her previous best - and missed a bronze medal by just 0.150 points.

When Nandi began coaching in 1986, he had vowed to create at least one world champion, one that stands out head and toe above the rest. That today, for him and the country, is Dipa.

Gautam Gambhir, India's third most successful Test opener and two-time World Cup winner, was all praise for Nandi. "I think for me what stands out is that here is this gentleman who does not have the access to facilities that you get in a metro city, or the financial support that various sports associations in India do, but still nurtures talent in a field such as gymnastics which frankly gets next to no coverage. To guide Dipa Karmakar to the Olympics, and she is India's first gymnast to do so in 50 years, that is exceptional and deserves the highest accolades. TOISA should also be about acknowledging the people behind the scenes, and Nandi is one such person."
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