Interview: Nikolai Snesarev, Former India Running Coach

Belarusian Nikolai Snesarev is known as a tough taskmaster and one who produces excellent results. As India coach, the 63-year-old’s Midas touch was in full focus at the Guangzhou Asian Games last year.

Snesarev’s female athletes put their best foot forward in China by winning two gold and as many silver medals other than a bronze at the quadrennial event. However, the coach left his “home of five years” soon after the Games in November to take up a new challenge in Qatar.

The experienced tactician, in an exclusive interview todohastadiumplusqatar.com, spoke about his new job, coaching philosophy and the way ahead.

What made you take up the Qatar job?

I first visited Doha during the 2006 Asian Games and the importance athletics received here impressed me. I wanted to work in Qatar at some point. Although I talked to the Qatar Association of Athletics Federation (QAAF) officials then, nothing happened.

However, the Qatari officials approached me when my athletes won five medals and set as many new national marks in Guangzhou. My contract with the Sports Authority of India had run out by then and I reached here in January. I’ve signed a one-year contract with the option of extending it further.

You’ve been here for nearly eight months. What’re your general impressions about Qatari athletes?

Unlike China or India, Qatar is a very small country. Hence, it’s very important that we produce more high quality athletes.

The QAAF is doing a great job. The national team did well at the recently-concluded Asian Championships in Kobe, Japan, and Military World Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There’s a sense of urgency in everything that Qatar does and it wants to prove a point.

Qatar possesses some promising athletes and the QAAF is providing them with the right conditions to grow, be it facilities to train, competing in international events or gaining financial rewards.

How many athletes are currently training with you?

I’m training three 15-year-olds — Ibrahim Omar Abdi (800M), Amar Abdelgalil Ahmed Elfaki (800M, 2,000M and 3,000M steeplechase) and Mohammed Alnazir Hamad Ramadan (800M).

They’ve all shown marked improvements in a short time. They’re dedicated, but it’s still too early to say how they’ll fare. Rest assured, they’re the best in their age group.

I’m only starting in Qatar, so I may pick more athletes as I go along.

My boys are likely to compete in different disciplines — 800M, 1,500M or steeplechase — in the long run. They shouldn’t be fighting with one another, but against those from other countries.

Are you satisfied with your boys’ training schedules in Qatar?

We could do better. We used to train at the Khalifa International Stadium, but unfortunately it’s now taken over by the national football team. We now alternate between Al Sadd Club’s training track and the Aspire Park. It’s tough to train in Doha’s hot and humid conditions. It’s important my boys attend high-altitude training camps. That’ll help them while competing at sea level.

How long will it take them to deliver on the world stage?

It’s tough to pinpoint an exact age, but normally, athletes between 21 and 26 do well in middle-distance races. Those between 24 and 29 years are good long-distance runners while 26 to 33 is an ideal time for marathon runners to bloom. So there’re still seven or eight years to go before my boys can start winning senior international medals.

Then again, exceptional talents, who’ve played other sports before joining athletics, can do better and faster. But coaches should be careful to ensure they don’t risk injury.

There’re frequent criticisms of Qatar fielding naturalised athletes. What’s your take on it?

It might’ve been the case in the past, but definitely not now. We’re concentrating on grooming home-grown talent. The QAAF’s Centre for Middle and Long Distance Athletes is doing well. It boasts several good Qatari boys.

Look at this country’s lone athletics medal at Olympics. Don’t forget that Mohammed Suleiman, a Qatari, won it (a bronze in 1,500M at the ’92 Barcelona Games).

Doping has become a huge menace in the sport…

I consider my athletes as my own children, so I’ll never ask them to take performance enhancing drugs. I’m engaged in my own researches to improve their endurance and speed. I’ve imposed a blanket ban on all kinds of capsules and medications, even prescribed ones.

One can never be sure if strict measures are followed while manufacturing such medicines. Present-day anti-doping methods are so strict that even slight variations could be construed as doping violations. Hence I insist that the athletes never touch any medicines while training with me.

Then how do I improve their performances so consistently? It’s through first-hand researches. I’m 63 now, but am as fit as a 24-year-old. I know my programmes work.

What do you look for in a budding athlete?

He/she should be fast, irrespective of whether they’re sprinters or marathon runners. They should be in good health and ready to practise from a young age. The coaches who work with them should also be well educated. A young athlete, burned out early, can’t be used at the elite levels.

Coaches and officials should be prepared to wait for results. You need to be patient. For example, you can’t roast cashew nuts in a hurry. If you heat it in a high flame, you just char it. Coaches should understand that young boys grow big quite fast. They may’ve a bigger body, but the cardiovascular system would only be catching up. They should be aware to what extent they can push their wards.

What’s your coaching philosophy?

I used to love my coach because he was intelligent, well educated and extremely fit for his age. I try to lead the same way. I try to stoke my boys’ patriotism and inculcate a sense of duty towards their country in them. I personally feel athletes who compete just for money are weak. Only those who put their country’s interests above everything else can succeed.

I sometimes hold lectures for athletes to educate them on modern training methods, technologies that can be used to enhance performances, etc. During such interactive sessions, there’ll be no difference between the coach and student. It helps build the bond.

Do modern-day youth lack the motivation of their predecessors?

All generations have had dedicated and talented athletes as well as those who had talent, but wasted it without proper discipline and training. There’s more money in athletics now and every country is investing in better sports infrastructure. I personally feel the younger generation is more focused on their goals.

Published with permission from dohastadiumplusqatar.com