In 1973, soon after college, she landed a job with the Indian Railways as a welfare officer. SHE IS 75, but that hasn’t kept Gurbans Kaur away from the sports field. In 1973, Kaur joined St Mira’s College, one of the prominent educational institutes for girls in Pune run by the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, as a sports teacher. “Though I am an athletics coach, my special interest is in throwing events,” says Kaur.
Felicitated with Captain Shivrampant Damle Sports Award by Maharashtriya Mandal last month, Kaur herself is a St Mira’s College alumna. “I joined the college in 1966. In school, I excelled as an athlete. When Dada Vaswani saw my medals, he was impressed and said I should immediately be given an admission,” she said.
In 1973, soon after college, she landed a job with the Indian Railways as a welfare officer. “But sports was my first love. I didn’t want to go off the field. I was lucky I got a part-time job with St Mira’s in 1973 itself. Though I got paid, I wasn’t after money. Coaching students on the field gave me immense joy and that’s why I never quit,” she said.
That very year, she was honoured by the state government with Shiv Chhatrapati award for excelling in javelin throw. In 2018, she was honoured with the Jijamata award by the state government for excellence in coaching.
“In all these years, Kaur must have coached 400-500 athletes who made it big on the national stage. She is a committed and dedicated sports teacher,” said college vice-principal Suvarna Pathak.
Some of the athletes she has trained are: Rakhee Gaud, Vardha Venkatratna, Vasundhara Gaikwad, Soniya Shinde, and Jueely Badhe.
She still spends two-three hours every day, training girls in athletics besides coaching them for throwing events. “I train students in the morning hours. It keeps me fit. It has been like this for close to 50 years now,” she said.
Today, she lives alone in Hadapsar area. “I never married because I wanted to serve my parents which I did till their last breath. Like I dedicated my professional life to sports, my personal life was dedicated to my parents,” she said.
Her dedication to her parents is evident in how she instituted awards in their names. “These awards are given to outstanding sports students of our college,” said Pathak.
Each time she won an award, Kaur donated the entire amount, sometimes even adding to it from her own pocket. “She is very generous.
Last month, when she was felicitated and received Rs 25,000 as prize money, she handed over a cheque of Rs 50,000 to the organisers for athletes.”
“Hard work is necessary to make a career in sports. You have to work hard day and night to make your dreams come true…If we want to achieve our goal in sports, we should be ready to face all the challenges.”
A sportsperson needs encouragement, she said. “I am very lucky in that regard. My college helped me in every possible way. That’s why I was able to make a career in the field of sports,” she added.