Bengaluru: In many ways Nisha Millet is the first exclamation point in the coaching career of S Pradeep Kumar. She was the swimmer who broke the proverbial glass ceiling for the trainer who has been named recipient of the prestigious Dronacharya award.
Why? Nisha was the first ward, after whom there were three more, under the tutelage of Pradeep who made it to the Olympics. And one would be hard pressed to find another person who is more excited for the veteran coach.
“I wrote a recommendation letter as part of the Dronacharya awards application. Nobody else has dedicated their life to a sport as much as he has. He moved from Kerala, hardly spends time with his family, he is there from 5 am to 9 pm at the pool. I think I got into coaching because of him and seeing the impact he has made on the other people’s life. I think he has really built up Indian swimming as such,” said Nisha on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday.
“To see him receiving the Dronacharya award from the president, there is no bigger honour.” The former champion is also optimistic about the future of swimming in the country.
“Female swimmers in India, I was a bit worried about. But now we have the likes of Maana Patel and Shivani Kataria who are getting to the level that we (Shikha Tandon and herself) left off. The boys are just brilliant. Every year if you look at the timing there is improvement,” she remarked adding that the work done by organisations like Olympic Gold Quest and Jindal Steel Works will only further the cause.
