Hockey coach Ramesh Parameswaran applies for Dronacharya Award

Team Udayavani, Jun 17, 2020, 3:23 PM IST

Bengaluru: Former assistant coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, Ramesh Parameswaran has applied for the prestigious Dronacharya Award, the country’s highest recognition for excellence in sports coaching.

While Hockey India has nominated BJ Kariappa and Romesh Pathania for the Dronacharya Award, Parameswaran decided to apply for the coveted award through Hockey Karnataka.

“It has been a long, exciting, and satisfying journey for me from a junior player to a National coach. I have had my share of ups and downs, triumphs and defeats, but overall, a most rewarding experience which I treasure,” the 70-year-old said.

“I invested a lot of time, money and energy besides sacrifices, but at the end of the day, it has been worth it all,” added the experienced coach, who has been mentoring young talent at the Karnataka Hockey Academy since 2015.

Parmeswaran”s association with hockey began when he represented erstwhile Mysore in the Junior National championship in 1969. He earned India colours in 1978 when he was part of the National team that took part and won a silver medal in the Asian Games at Bangkok.

After joining the Reserve Bank of India, Bangalore, Parmeswaran took to coaching in 1985 when he trained the Karnataka team for the senior National championship.

A decade later, he was appointed assistant coach of the Indian team, a role he performed until 2008 when he took charge of the Indian Oil squad. His stint with IOCL was hugely successful as the team won many National-level tournaments.

His decision to apply for the Dronacharya award has received commendation from former players such as Vasudevan Baskaran, captain of the 1980 Olympic gold medal winning team, former National coach MK Kaushik, Dilip Tirkey and Ashish Ballal among others.