To be successful, one must put forth not only his or her own efforts and hard work but also the backing of others. And, in sports, it’s as much about the players’ efforts as it is about the coaches’, who provide guidance and support but often remain behind the curtains.
The Asian U17 championships selection trials recently encountered an endearing moment between an athlete and his coach. Jonathan Selvaraj, a sports journalist, shared a photo of Karnataka athlete Ningappa getting the blessings of his coach, Kamini Yadav, a women’s wrestling champion.
Women coaches in men's wrestling are very rare in 🇮🇳. Ningappa of Karnataka who won selection trials for Asian U17 championships though is coached by fmr Commonwealth🥈 Kamini Yadav who was a pioneer of 🇮🇳 women's wrestling. After the final he went to get her blessings. pic.twitter.com/ZLxpzrsgzV
— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) May 18, 2022
While male coaches are typical for female athletes, Twitter users pointed out that Yadav and her peers are deviating from the norm.
The heartwarming gesture was well-received by Twitter users, who expressed their appreciation and wished that we could one day move beyond gender and other classifications.
I remember Andy Murray brought Emily Mauresmo for a little while to coach him.
— Aikya Shah (@AI210892) May 18, 2022
Good coaches are good coaches, irrespective of gender. Good to see and hoping for success for both of them!
Beautiful
— shruti dhawan (@shrutid47191678) May 18, 2022
Teacher – student, mentor – mentee relationship should always transcend all kinds of classifications. https://t.co/14eAR1eRfs
— Aishwarya Palagummi 🇮🇳 (@APalagummi) May 18, 2022
Kudos, well done ma’am. 🙌🏼
— Amit 🍁🤟🏼 (@meamitshuklaa) May 18, 2022
A great coach doing a great job in one of the toughest sport, remarkable achievement.
I hope and wish one day we move forward from gender, religion, race etc and panegyric individuals based on their marvellous achievements.💙 https://t.co/trhJzRS0J9
Male coaches for female athletes is a such a norm . A female coach ( Kamini Yadav) training a male player (Ningappa in this case) is what we want to see more ! #womensports https://t.co/wUSXJfN4w0
— Kulveen Trehan (@kulveentrehan) May 18, 2022
Awesome. https://t.co/wzebb3iFWY
— Eric Asselin1974 (@EricAsselin74) May 18, 2022
So nice 🙂
— Ganesh Shenoy (@GaneshS91610612) May 18, 2022
And we love Twitter for offering us such wholesome moments.