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Tokyo Olympics propels UP’s hockey star into limelight
Assistant coach of Indian men’s hockey team, Piyush Dubey, has had a very long and strong connection with Sangam city
The Indian men’s hockey team has given the entire country a big reason to rejoice after they clinched bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics after a gap of 41 years. For residents of Prayagraj, especially those residing in Jhunsi area of the city, it is an equally special moment as one of the key members of the winning team has had a very long and strong connection with Sangam city.
Assistant coach of the team, Piyush Dubey did his MA in Economics from Allahabad University and after getting diploma from NIS-Patiala, even coached students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, AFS-Manauri besides working as guest lecturer at department of Physical Education, AU.
Speaking from Tokyo, Dubey shared many moments that shaped his career and which he would always cherish.
“I was quite young when I started working at KV Manauri as a guest coach for training the hockey team of the school in 2004. Hearing that a new coach has come, around 130 students, both boys and girls, came on the field and I suddenly faced the challenge of having to select a final team from so many hopefuls. Although my first salary was around ₹2800 per month at a time when my personal expenses were around ₹15000, but the experience of teaching the basics and the exposure to work independently was far more than any monetary gains,” said Dubey.
He then coached AU’s hockey team and later on was again on the grounds of KV Manauri when the then principal Shalini Dikshit selected him to coach the team. School’s team won the nationals in 2004 and 2011. During this period, Dubey did BPEd and MPEd from Barkatullah University, Bhopal.
In 2014, Piyush got selected in Sports Authority of India (SAI) and his first appointment was in Sonepat (Haryana).
Piyush was also among the selected trainers who were sent by the Government of India to University of Birmingham in England in 2016. There he studied Sports Science and Coaching. More than 75 of his trainees have so far shown their mettle at national and international level tournaments.
Piyush’s family is originally from Mathura. His father Kunwar Garvendra Singh Dubey was a wrestler. He got the title of ‘Singh’ only because of his wrestling.
“It so happened that my elder brother Shravan was also fond of wrestling and I used to go to the akhara at Jhunsi with him. On the way, a small ground was there where noted coach Prem Shankar Shukla used to teach hockey to kids. One day he handed me the stick and asked me to try my hands. He was very impressed to see my dribbling skills at an early age and asked me to concentrate on hockey only,” shared Dubey over phone.
