Anil Kumble, a mechanical engineer, outlines the need for athletes to pursue academics too

BENGALURU: In the summer of 1990, a bespectacled, lanky youngster from South Bengaluru caught the fancy of a cricket-besotted country. He combined dexterous skill in his craft of leg-spin with razor-sharp analytical competencies. It helped the youngster achieve unparalleled success as he eventually rose to become India captain and later head coach of the Indian team.

But Anil Kumble believed he could go back to a 9-to-5 job anytime his cricket career was nearing its end.

“A good fallback for me was that I had an engineering degree. So, if anything went wrong, I knew I could apply and at least land a 9-5 job,” said Kumble.

The importance of education has not been lost on Kumble, and he never fails to pass on advice of the benefits of being schooled to budding sportspersons.

“Education is an important aspect to being a successful sportsperson,” said Kumble on the sidelines of Tenvic, his company, and Manipal Academy of Higher Learning (MAHE) signing an MoU Monday for educational and infrastructural initiatives. “In my case, education helped me handle all the pressure on field and other external factors that enable you to go out there and play. It helps you perform better on the field because you feel a lot more secure. You do not have to worry about what happens if you get injured or dropped.”

Weighing in on an ongoing debate on sport being the exclusive domain of the affluent, Kumble said: “I think it’s a fair scale. You need plenty of resources. In cricket, a bat or kit costs a lot of money. But it’s the responsibility of the athlete too. They must ask themselves, ‘how can I have a cushion or a fallback mechanism in case something goes wrong in my sport?’ It’s quite a challenge for everything to align."

Stressing on the deep-rooted relevance and impact of grassroots sport, Kumble said, “Gifted sports people will probably get a sponsorship or the support of an organisation. For others, it’s a massive challenge. We are trying to build a grassroots force so that interest in sport develops at a school-level. If you look at all the successful nations, the success comes from universities. They all go through a proper system — school, college and then university.”

Concurring with Kumble, Vasanth Bharadwaj, former international table tennis player and co-founder of Tenvic, said, “We are committed to providing all resources that will address the three target audiences that we would intend to cater to. These are: Current competitive athletes who need academic support. Two, either recently retired athletes or ones contemplating retirement. The question is how does s/he prepare for life after sport? Three, every student who aspires to be part of the larger sporting ecosystem. How does s/he develop the skills?”

MD Venkatesh, vice-chancellor, MAHE, stressed the importance of education for athletes, saying, “An important aspect of this MOU is to enable sportspersons to get academic qualifications. We are aware that sporting careers have a shelf life. Thereafter, they would like to look at what to do, how to do it, and also avenues to give back to sports.”

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