Mohammed Ilyas Babar (1926 – 30 July 2002) was an Indian athletic coach. Babar was born in

Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka (Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is 6 ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He became an outstanding university athlete in Hyderabad and was the state champion in 110m hurdles between 1950 and 1957, and in long jump. He graduated in commerce from the

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...

. He obtained a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

in 1961. He coached for a while in

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

before moving to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. There he joined the Rajputana Rifles and served until 1999. His trainees included

Jagmal Singh Jagmal Singh was a sixteenth century Indian prince and court figure. He was the son of Maharana Udai Singh II and Rani Dheerbai Bhatiyani. Biography After the death of Udai Singh II his favorite wife, Dheerbai Bhatiyani, wanted Jagmal to succ ...

, B. V. Satyanarayan, BS Barua,

Sriram Singh Honorary Captain Sriram Singh Shekhawat (born 14 November 1948) is a former Indian middle-distance runner. Sriram Singh joined Rajputana Rifles in 1968 where he came under the influence of the coach Ilyas Babar. Babar persuaded him to shift hi ...

, Tarlok Singh, Charles Borromeo, Bagicha Singh, Harlal Singh, Ram Narayan Singh and Geeta Zutshi.Milli Gazette, ''Remembering Ilyas Babar''
/ref> Between them, they won 17 gold medals in

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

and Asian Track and Field meets, three

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

and five

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

s. Sriram Singh finished seventh in the 800m in the

Montreal Olympics Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

and set an Indian record that stood for 42 years. Babar went to the Montreal Olympics on his own expense, having to sell his scooter and various household goods and borrow from his friends to reach Montreal. Babar was given the

Dronacharya Award The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a ch ...

in 1994. In the

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was de ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

he was voted as the ''Best coach in Asia'' by a panel of international experts and presented with the ''Adidas Golden Shoe''. He died at age 76, three days after undergoing a surgery for stomach ulcer in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

References

*
Indian Express, ''The coach who ran the extra distance''

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Babar, Ilyas 1926 births 2002 deaths Recipients of the Dronacharya Award Indian athletics coaches People from Kalaburagi Athletes from Karnataka Osmania University alumni