Jajpur 04/12/2022: Saraswati Chand, the elder sister of international sprinter, Dutee Chand, is busy training a group of 18-odd children of all ages free of cost on holidays at Kalpataru Das Stadium under Jaraka in Jajpur district.
‘Jajpur Athletics’, she has named it and her main objective is to find out hidden talents from the rural soil, and carve out more Dutee Chands/international sportspersons. This quest of hers prompts her not only to train them for free but also sometimes spend from her meagre salary to get some basic requirements for her trainees.
“We all know that there is a huge pool of talent in the rural areas which needs to be tapped. The main objective of this small training centre ‘Jajpur Athletics’ is to tap it. As an athlete, I have faced a lot of problems. I didn’t know how to go about my sports career. It was only in college I came to know the role of sports in getting a government job. I took up running as no equipment was needed to practice it. I do not want other athletes of my village to face any such obstacles.
Therefore, I have set up this small coaching institute free of cost for such children who are talented but cannot afford professional training. I try to provide some of their basic necessities, but it is a very informal kind of training centre, lacking a lot of facilities. We do not even have enough shoes for each and every student. I am not even able to train them every day because I train students at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. On holidays and weekends, I go there and on other days, try to instruct them over phone. I try to give my best shot and now my students have been able to make a mark at the district and state level competitions,” says Saraswati Chand regarding her endeavour.
This trait is inherent to her. She was the first one to focus on her sister, international sprinter Dutee Chand’s career as she could sense her ability to perform better in this field.
This small informal coaching started 2 years back, and now has 7 girls,11 boys training under her.
“We do not have any kind of financial backing though Dutee has helped now and then in providing equipments to the students of worth Rs 1 lakh over the years. International coach Simon Lau also helped us with some of the equipments which was needed for the practice. He even coached the kids for around 2 weeks free of cost,” she informs.
Saraswati Chand started her sports career quite late, in her college days, just to be able to get a government job in sports quota, support her family and get them out of their financial woes. And she did get a job in Odisha Police in sports quota.
When asked about her role in Dutee’s career building, she humbly says, “I am just a small brick in the formation of her career. She was carved into an international sprinter with the help of so many people who tirelessly supported her all through.
However, it cannot be argued that she spotted the talent of her sister, and showed her the path to success.
Talking about her initial days, “In College, I had to perform well in sports. I had taken up running as it didn’t require any equipment nor any team. To practice, I started to run on the banks of Brahmani river in our village whenever it was possible. And to avoid the glares of the villagers, I used to take Duttee along with me. She also started running with me. Then, I discovered that she has a knack for it.”
“I knew that sports would change her life forever, so I started motivating her to practice. In school, I coerced her to participate in Talent Scouting and she got selected which made her path easier. She stayed in the Sports Hostel in Bhubaneswar and got nutritious food in addition to training for 3 yrs.
But, after completion of Std X, she had to leave the hostel. I became a bit worried for her because I knew that if her talent was not nurtured properly, it would be wasted.”
In 2012,Saraswati had gone for a national camp at National Institute of Sports, Patiala. She wanted Dutee to be trained under the best coaches. So, she approached N Ramesh (senior women’s coach) for her training who had already seen Duttee perform in a junior meet. Much to Saraswati’s delight, N Ramesh agreed to help her out.
“But there was another problem. She was a junior and it was a senior camp. She could not stay with me. So, her stay and food was arranged outside with the help of my colleagues and coach sir.”
All her endeavours paid off when Dutee became the national champion in the 100m and 200 m sprints at the age of 17 in 2013.
Talking about her struggles in bringing Duttee to forefront she said,
“We did not have enough food, let alone nutritious food in our home. So, we (even my parents) used to skip our share of proteins to provide eggs and meat to Dutee. But she had made all of us proud. I also remember bringing the first pair of tracksuit and spikes for Dutee from Canada where I had gone for the World Police Athletic Championships in 2009.
Talking about her aspirations, Saraswati confides,”I want that let these village talent bloom and spread their fragrance around the world, rather than wither in this village itself. The government can’t be expected to do everything, we also have some responsibility towards the society, and this is what I want to give back to the people of my village. I want more international players like Dutee from my village.”
Simon Lau, an international coach from Malaysia recently visited Saraswati’s village and trained her students for a couple of weeks. He was in high praise for Saraswati.
“She had come to my coaching workshop in Jharkhand way back in 2019. A very inquisitive, patient and a very dedicated person, she is always willing to learn about the latest techniques regarding coaching. It’s very difficult to find such a coach, even in my country. For me, she is the best coach. I wish her all success to be able to produce a good athlete from Odisha.”
Saraswati is a blend of talent, vision and perseverance whose only wish is that no other child interested in sports face any such problems which she or Dutee had endured during her childhood.
