Mysuru: In our country, cricket is revered like a religion, while the other sports get less attention. But, after watching star gymnast from India, Dipa Karmakar perform well on International platforms, the country has hopes that it would shine in this forte so far held by the European athletes. Here is another gymnast star Arun Kumar H Patil from the ‘Palace City’, who is passing on the skills to the new generation.
Arun Kumar, who is basically from Dharwad district, is a sports enthusiast right from the time he was a kid. He began participating in sporting activities at the age of seven and gradually developed interest towards gymnastics. His first guru (mentor) in gymnastics was S B Arushkar, from whom he began training from the year 1967. Later, he was trained under several gymnastics training schools.
As a result of rigorous training, in the year 1970, he achieved state level, sub junior and junior level accolades. In 1980, he secured several medals participating in the All India University Level competition. Later, he also went on to bag several medals at the national level. In 1980-81, he applied for a Diploma in coaching under SIS Patia. In 1981-82, he was appointed as the state level coach in gymnastics. Beginning his career from Dharwad, he later rendered his services in Kodagu, Mysuru and several other districts.
In 1983, he was selected as a trainer in the National Sports Academy. From 1987-97, he served as a trainer in the Chamundi Vihar Stadium of Mysuru. He not only served in Karnataka but also in the neighbouring state of Kerala and attracted a lot of students towards him.
Several gymnastics enthusiasts trained under Arun Kumar have achieved success in life. To name a few, Shailesh, K Lokesh, and Ravi S Patil. Y G Lokesh from Madikeri and Sumarani from Mysuru have also been bestowed with the prestigious Ekalavya Award.
Although, he has retired from gymnastics training, he serves as a guest trainer in the Department of Physical Education, University of Mysore.