Childhood
Born in Mangarwal, a hill-border village of Hoshiarpur where badminton was so unknown people barely had a name for it. The first athlete his family ever produced — the son of a driver.
About · The Story
A Journey Told in Chapters
Some coaches arrive at the sport on a smooth road. Suresh Kumar walked — sometimes thirty kilometres of it, through forest, after dark.
The Struggle
Badminton — the most expensive of racket sports — met a household counting every rupee. Rackets, shuttles, shoes, kit: each a small fortune. He economised at every turn.
Discovering Badminton
He first ran — 3000m and 5000m in the hills, winning district medals. Then one afternoon he watched schoolmates play badminton on a court inside the school, and something turned over in him.
30 KM for the Game
After the 3 p.m. bell he caught the 3:15 bus — thirty kilometres over rough hill roads — then ran the last stretch to the stadium to save the fare and the warm-up. When the last bus left without him, he walked home. Through forest. In the dark. No phone.
"When the last bus left, I walked thirty kilometres home through the forest — because the game was worth the distance."
A Late Start
He came to the game at eighteen, against children who had trained since ten. Effort outran results — a quiet ceiling of cost, time and timing that he would one day lift for others.
Education
He built a rare foundation for a grassroots coach: B.P.Ed, M.P.Ed, UGC-NET and an M.A. in Psychology — training the mind as deliberately as the body.
The Patiala Turn
His uncle by marriage, Master Jagdish Ram, refused to let him settle — and pointed him to Patiala, the heart of Indian sport. A near-miss on the admission list, a second list, and a life changed.
A Government Career
In 2016 he took a government coaching post at ₹9,700 a month — turning down work worth three times as much — because the smaller job kept him beside the game. In 2020 he became a Lecturer.
The Free-Coaching Mission
There, he made the decision that defines him: he would coach — but never again charge a child a single rupee. A promise kept for nine years and counting.
"Not one rupee, from any child, since 2016. That is a promise, not a policy."
Present Day
He could earn more elsewhere. He stays in Patiala — teaching by day, and by evening handing a chosen few the one thing no one could sell him when he needed it most: a way in.
Milestones
The Long Way to the Game
Childhood
Village athletics in Mangarwal
A distance runner (3000m / 5000m) before he ever held a racket — district medals, state school representation.
~2007–08
Late start in badminton
Wins his first Zone, loses his first District match — and makes winning the mission.
2008–2009
Selected at Patiala
Master Jagdish Ram redirects him to Patiala; merit selection at the Government Physical Education College.
Patiala Years
Inter-College gold & beyond
Inter-College gold, Inter-University and All-India Inter-University — alongside B.P.Ed and M.P.Ed.
2015
M.A. Psychology, LPU
After qualifying UGC-NET in Physical Education — completing a rare mind-and-body foundation.
Feb 2016
Free coaching begins
A Punjab-government coaching post at ₹9,700 — and a vow to never charge a child a rupee again.
2020
Appointed Lecturer
Reportedly 2nd in Punjab in the merit — yet he chose Patiala to stay near his family and his players.
2017 – 2025
Students reach the world stage
World School Games, Asian Junior podiums, para-badminton medals — and a Punjab U-19 girls' national school gold.