The Mumbai Cricket Club (MCC) and the Jwala Sports Foundation (JSF) has always strived for the promotion of cricket and the development of young cricketers. Through their dedication and commitment, they have already produced several top class cricketers, including Yashasvi Jaiswal and Prithvi Shaw and many more players from their academies are expected to make it big on the domestic, national and international stage.
Jawla Singh, founder and director of MCC and JSF, who is passionate about cricket and worked tirelessly to nurture and groom youngsters into cricketers, has now turned his attention towards recognizing the contributions of coaches and media persons. Singh, recognizing the efforts of the coaches and journalists, who both have played a key role and have been instrumental in shaping the careers of cricketers and motivating and encouraging them, felicitated two highly reputed coaches and two senior journalists during a function recently. All four were recipients of the MCC Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 instituted in memory of Late Shri Tej Pratap Singh and which carried a cash award of Rs 25,000 each.
Coach Vidya Paradkar, who has been associated with Mumbai cricket for over 30 years, has worked with Indian cricketers Zaheer Khan and Ajankya Rahane and many Ranji Trophy players.
The other recipient of this prestigious award was Coach Vijay Saxena, who is a doctor by profession. Jwala Singh was fortunate that his career was shaped and influenced under the guidance of Coach Saxena, who was also responsible for producing many young cricketers from Gorakhpur and the nearby districts.
The two seasoned journalists who were felicitated were former Times of India, Senior Sports Correspondent, Rajendra Kumar Bowrie and Binod Khatri, a former Senior Sports Correspondent, with the Navbharat Times.
Coach Saxena, who travelled from Gorakhpur to receive the awards was quite emotional, but showered praise on Jwala Singh. “I am really touched by this gesture. It makes me feel proud to be honoured by my student. This shows his (Jwala) love for the sport and most important is that he has not forgotten the people, especially the coaches, who had played a big role in his rise towards making a mark in cricket,” mentioned Saxena, who conducts free cricket coaching, at the Purvanchal Khel Sansthan at Gorakhpur.
Coach Vidya paradkar said, “I am very happy that Mumbai Cricket Club and Jwala Sports Foundation have recognized my coaching responsibilities. I have been coaching on the cricket maidans of Mumbai and this award is a fitting tribute to my hard work. I thank Jwala Singh and his entire team for felicitating me. I wish Jwala Singh, MCC and JSF all the best for their future training programmes and tournaments.”