Hockey coach Merzban Patel, who has bagged the prestigious Dronacharya Award for his grassroots work, says although he expected the honour he didn't visualise it coming his way this early. The 69-year-old Patel, better known as 'Bawa' in Mumbai hockey who has nurtured a few future Olympians at a young age, also feels that he was more of a mentor to the upcoming players.

He has, in his three-decade career as a coach, mentored Olympians Adrian D'souza, half back Viren Rasquinha and other internationals like the Walmiki brothers - Devendra and Yuvraj. Patel, along with Rambir Singh Khokhar (Kabaddi) and cricket coach Sanjay Bhardwaj, will be conferred with the Dronacharya Award at the sports awards ceremony in New Delhi next week. "Coaching is not (just) about coaching. More than coaching it is the gap of the tongue (referring to communication) that is required, how you motive the boys, their parents. "Parents are pillars behind the boys who are coming up," Bawa told PTI at the Mumbai Hockey Association's (MHA) Mahindra Stadium.