Inspiring future champions

The IIS Ballari houses world-class sporting infrastructure where diligently chosen athletes give wings to their dreams

A state-of-the -art athletics training facility with a 400-metre synthetic track. DH Photos/ B H Shivakumar

Wrestlers being put through rigourous physical training by men’s head coach Amir Tavakolian of Iran. DH Photo

Manipur’s Inunganbi Takhellambam has always dreamt about an Olympic medal glittering around her neck. Ever ready to go through the “sacrifices” needed to represent her country at the greatest sporting spectacle.

Too ambitious, said a few, while the rest poked fun with a ‘building castles in the air, this girl’ remark.

But now, these aspirations don’t seem too far-fetched for the 22-year-old judoka from Imphal East District who competes in the women’s 63 kg category.

Inunganbi, the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championship bronze medallist, feels a sense of belonging in an environment that has 140 others from various parts of India toiling hard each day to achieve a similar dream.

The Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) was set up in 2018 for the very same reason. To encourage, support and groom talented youngsters to make them future champions.

Nestled inside the Jindal South West (JSW) township at Toranagallu in Sandur taluk of Ballari district, the privately-funded facility is a brainchild of Parth Jindal, Managing Director of JSW Cement and Director of JSW Sports.

The 42-acre high-performance training centre for athletes, regularly hosts seasoned pros including Tokyo Olympics heroes - gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, wrestler and bronze-medallist Bajrang Punia among other international stars.

Currently, the focus remains on four disciplines - judo, wrestling, boxing and athletics - while professional teams from various leagues owned by the JSW Group such as ISL’s Bengaluru FC, IPL’s Delhi Capitals and PKL’s Haryana Steelers are often seen practicing here during their pre-season schedule.

Everything during a typical day at IIS revolves around the overall development of an individual through sports. “The opportunity to meet and train with international stars and the professional help provided in each department makes us strive hard towards our goals,” stated boxer Vishak V from Bengaluru.

The hustle never stops within the boundaries of this athlete community where 24 acres have been utilised so far and an Olympic-sized swimming pool is under construction.

IIS hopes to develop the remaining space in the coming years to add other sports to their programme. The institute’s scouting teams are constantly on the lookout for promising youngsters from various national championships.

Once selected, the sportsperson receives a full scholarship not only to train but his/her education is also taken care of.

Both Vishak and Inun were picked from the trials conducted by the coaches at separate venues and have been a part of IIS since its inception. “The academy teaches us life skills as we get invaluable lessons from living together to interacting with experts about technique, mental and physical health. We wake up to learn something new everyday,” Inun told DHoS, after finishing the weight-training session along with her fellow judokas at the strength and conditioning centre.

A few meters away inside the combat hall, 21-year-old wrestler Freedom Yadav from Uttar Pradesh and other female grapplers are in the midst of an intense practice session under the watchful eyes of head coach Yandro Quintana of Cuba, the 2004 Athens Olympics gold medallist in the men’s 60 kgs category.

Outside on the athletic track: “Still have three sets. No give up,” shouts Amir Tavakolian of Iran, head coach for the male wrestlers as they sweat it out during circuit training (combination of exercises with short rest periods).

It takes an army to build one champion, goes the saying. While expert coaching staff form one part of the ecosystem, psychologists, physiotherapists and nutritionists complete the core group of the grand set-up.

Dhananjay Kaushik, head physiotherapist, was busy assessing one of the boxers during their routine check-ups at the space dedicated for sports medicine. “Our role of injury prevention to ensure an athlete’s best physical condition and to prolong their careers is more important than curing an injury after the damage is done,” he explained.

“Indians are on par with the rest of the athletes around the world. It is just about giving them the right kind of exposure at the right time,” added John Warburton of England, head coach for boxing.

And the right time is always right now.. screams the huge digital clock put up at the entrance that displays the countdown for the 2024 Paris Olympics, to remind the dreamers about their purpose every second of the day.

State-of-the-art facilities with such finer details is what India probably needs on a larger scale to move away from the ‘too ambitious’ tag associated with our Olympic aspirations. A start has been made here in the land known for its iron ore treasures where the hope now rests over unearthing sporting greatness.

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