Babu Gaonkar made Goa proud by winning three silver medals in modern pentathlon at the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand.
Photo Credits: The Goan
PANAJI
Babu Gaonkar made Goa proud by winning three silver medals in modern pentathlon at the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand. Babu secured three silver medals -- in the Laser Run Individual Men’s, Laser Run Men’s Team, and Laser Run Mixed Relay events. In addition, Goa’s Laser Run women’s team bagged a bronze medal.
Reflecting on his performance, Babu shared, “I feel very good and proud. It’s a different feeling to reach this level and win medals. Unfortunately, I missed the gold by just five seconds in one event. But I’m now focused on working harder to win more medals, especially gold, in the future.”
Babu and his team won three silver and three bronze medals in total. Goa sent 10 athletes to the Games, six boys and four girls.
Speaking about his preparation, Babu said, “I’ve been training for nearly a year, but intensely for the last 45 days. Most of my practice was in Quepem and my hometown, Sanguem.”
His journey wasn’t easy. “I travelled nearly 30 km every day for practice, and that’s on top of early morning training. My family’s support has been vital in helping me bring these medals home,” Babu said.
Babu also spoke about the challenges facing modern pentathlon in Goa. “The sport has a lot of potential here, but we lack proper infrastructure. I had to take private coaching because government support didn’t meet my needs. We didn’t even have access to a proper swimming pool at times,” he explained.
Coach Kirtan Vaiz praised the team’s performance and expressed optimism for the future. “We did well, but we could have won gold. We’re aiming for gold in upcoming competitions, including the Asian Games,” the coach said. Vaiz also acknowledged the growing popularity of modern pentathlon in Goa, thanks to support from the Goa government and the sports department.
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Modern pentathlon coach reveals training struggles
Coach Virendra Majik has expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the Goa team at the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand, despite some challenges.
"The performance this time was good. We could have earned more medals and had more players, but I’m very happy with how the team performed and the medals we brought back," he said.
Coach Majik highlighted the growing potential of the sport, noting that there is a lot of scope for modern pentathlon in Goa. "There’s a lot of support for the sport, and it’s gaining recognition. Before the National Games, over 50 athletes came for selection, and out of those, eight were selected to represent the State. That shows the level of competition and the talent in the State," he added.
One of the key challenges faced by the team was the limited training time leading up to the National Games. "Normally, we need at least one and a half to two months of training for proper preparation. But this time, we only had 20 days of training before the team left for Uttarakhand on January 5. This short camp made it difficult to fully prepare," Majik explained.
The coach also raised concerns about the lack of proper infrastructure for the sport in Goa. "There’s not enough infrastructure to support modern pentathlon. For example, we don’t have proper swimming pool facilities. There were times when we had to travel long distances, even to places like Café, for training. At one point, we even had to train and swim in water kennels in Sanguem because there were no better facilities available," he revealed.
Coach Majik stressed the need for better infrastructure to help athletes reach their full potential. "If we want to bring more medals and develop more athletes, we need better facilities. The lack of infrastructure is a big challenge, but with the right support, we can overcome it," he said.
Looking ahead, Coach Majik is optimistic about the future of Goa’s athletes in international competitions. "Our focus now is on the Asian Games. With the government’s support and the hard work of our athletes, I’m confident we can bring home medals from future tournaments," he assured.
