New Delhi: The famous mental coach for top athletes, who played a key role in guiding MS Dhoni’s world champions to the 2011 World Cup victory and the Indian hockey team to a bronze at the Paris Olympics, can’t help but smile with pride as he discusses his most recent trainee, 18-year-old Gukesh, who made history as the youngest ever world champion by defeating the defending champion, Ding Liren. The name is Paddy Upton.
Who is Paddy Upton?
Patrick Anthony Howard ‘Paddy’ Upton born on 5 November 1968, he is a South African-born cricket coach specialising as head coach in professional Twenty20 cricket, mental coach to professional athletes, sports scientist executive coach and professor of practice at Deakin University. He attained his master’s degree in sports science at the University of Cape Town.
Changing careers following a second master’s degree in business coaching from Middlesex University (2003), and along with Gary Kirsten as head coach, Upton was appointed “mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach” of the Indian national cricket team in 2008. Under Kirsten and Upton, the team attained the ICC top Test team ranking for the first time (2009), and went on to win the 2011 ICC World Cup. Following this success, Upton was appointed performance director of the South Africa Cricket Team (Proteas) from 2011 to 2014, during which time they became the first team to simultaneously hold the ICC world number 1 ranking in all three formats of the international game.
Having been appointed the head coach of India in 2008, Gary Kirsten recommended the appointment of Upton in the dual role of Mental Conditioning coach and Strategic Leadership Coach. Kirsten described Upton’s support and guidance as invaluable. The duo of Kirsten and Upton spent three years with the Indian team, during which time the team attained the top test ICC team ranking for their first time (2009), and went on to win the ICC World Cup in 2011 – with India having last won that tournament 28 years prior.
Paddy Upton and Gukesh have prepared the Indian teenager for every scenario he could experience at the World Championship. They’ve also pored over minute details like what he should do when Ding is spending time thinking about his moves and what the teen should do in his downtime.
Now you can definitely relate the connection between MS Dhoni’s World Champions and now the youngest world champion in chess D Gukesh. If you look at any game or sport, mental health and strength is very important to that particular athlete or the sportsperson. If we look into the way then Paddy Upton has a big hand in grooming the athletes.
