Athletes pay tribute to former India cricket fitness coach Kulbhushan Dogra

Lt. Gen. Vivek Dogra, Signal Officer-in-Chief and son of Capt. Kulbhushan Dogra, organised the event at the Signal Regiment near Subroto Park in Delhi. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Former India batter Gursharan Singh, former Asian 1,500m champion Capt. Suresh Yadav, and several other athletes gathered in Delhi on Sunday to pay homage to Capt. Kulbhushan Dogra on the second anniversary of his death.

`Dogra Sahab’, as he was fondly called, was a friend, mentor and guide to anyone who came into contact with him.

His son, Lt. Gen. Vivek Dogra, Signal Officer-in-Chief, organised the event at the Signal Regiment near Subroto Park in Delhi.

`Dogra Sahab’ wore many hats. He was a soldier from Rajputana Rifles, a hurdler for Northern Railway and a National Institute of Sports athletics coach.

But his first love remained cricket, with physical fitness a very close second. The mix of these two led to his taking over as the first fitness expert of the Indian cricket team at a time when stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath and Kapil Dev were in the team.

For Gursharan, it was a nostalgic throwback to the times when he would ride pillion on Capt. Dogra’s Lambretta scooter to the National Stadium cricket nets under legendary coach Gurcharan Singh.

“For me it is an emotional moment meeting Gen. Dogra, whom we then affectionately called Vicky,’’ said Gursharan. “Those scooter rides on Dogra sir’s scooter from Amar Colony to National Stadium are fresh in mind,’’ he added.

Among those who attended the event were former junior national X-Country champion Rupinder Singh, 400m runner Anil Sethi, quartermiler Rita Wadhera, SAI coach M. L. Dogra, basketballer Sukhminder Singh, and athletes Mukesh Kapoor and Norris Pritam.

Close to 500 runners participated in the 3km and 5km categories. “For me it is an emotional day,” Lt. Gen. Dogra said after the successful event, a brainchild of his wife, Anupama.

“My father was very fond of running and a great advocate of community running on Sundays.”

Capt. Dogra breathed his last on October 25, 2024, at the age of 89.