Now Reading: Indian athletics coach Mohamed Azarudeen takes charge of Malaysia team
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Indian athletics coach Mohamed Azarudeen takes charge of Malaysia team
Mohamed Azarudeen, a 32-year-old athletics coach from Ooty, has taken up the role of head coach for middle- and long-distance running with the Malaysian national team. He joined the post six months…
Mohamed Azarudeen, a 32-year-old athletics coach from Ooty, has taken up the role of head coach for middle- and long-distance running with the Malaysian national team. He joined the post six months ago and is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, conducting a month-long training camp for Malaysian athletes at the SAI centre in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the Asian Games.
Azarudeen, who began coaching at age 21, previously worked with the national setup in Bengaluru and trained Sreekiran Nandakumar, the first Indian 800m runner to qualify for the Youth Olympics. He said he moved because opportunities in India had become limited. The move, he added, shows that Indian coaching expertise is gaining recognition abroad.
One of his athletes, Umar Osman, finished sixth in the men's 400m at the Continental Tour Silver meet, ahead of several Indian competitors. The Malaysian team will compete in events in India during their training stint.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Indian coaches moving abroad to lead national teams remain rare, but Azarudeen's move follows a pattern of Indian sports professionals seeking roles where domestic opportunities are limited by a reliance on foreign coaches. The Athletics Federation of India has long employed overseas experts for senior national camps, leaving Indian coaches in assistant roles. Azarudeen's World Athletics Level 3 certification and NIS diploma place him among the more qualified Indian coaches. The real test for him will be building a middle- and long-distance programme in Malaysia, which he acknowledges lacks India's talent pool. The Asian Games next year will be the first major benchmark for his work.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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