NEW DELHI: At 79, Gopal Purushottam Phadke is driven by passion for sports and does not mind moving from pillar to post in search of Sunil Mittal's contact number - just to congratulate the business tycoon for backing Indian football.
The only kho kho coach to have won the Dronacharya award (2000) and Padma Shree (2003), Phadke gave up his government job decades ago to promote games like kho kho and kabaddi.
He even went on his own, without any financial support, to popularise kho kho and kabaddi in schools in Australia.
He also runs a free coaching programme for physically-handicapped children in swimming -- in a small tank he has built -- and other games.
The news that Bharti Enterprises has signed an MoU with All India Football Federation (AIFF) to pump in Rs 100 crore towards a comprehensive National Football Development Programme stirred Phadke and he is making efforts to get in touch with Mittal and convey his appreciation for the gesture.
"Somebody is putting so much money in football. That's why I want to congratulate Sunil Mittal personally. But I do not know how to contact him. I am based in Pune and I could not get his number. So in Delhi I am trying and hopefully will get to him," Phadke said.
As a first step, the telecom company aims to start a world class football academy which will be set up either in Haryana or Goa.
Mittal said he wants a "football revolution" in the country and is ready to invest "any amount of money" necessary for providing a world class academy.
"We have an aim to make this country a football nation and the next 10 years must be a target for India to be at the World Cup. This project has the capacity to transform the nation and all the investment would be made by Bharti Foundation," Mittal said.
"We have become too obsessed with cricket and the time has now come for us to develop football in the country. Nothing is more pulsating than the 90-minute entertainment on a football field," he said.
