From aspiring to be a coach way back in 1974, to training players for over five decades, Tahir Ali has come a long way. Ali, 73, says he does not wish to stop, but continues doing what he loves—coaching— till his last breath. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Ali’s students will have a function at the PJ Hindu Gymkhana on Saturday evening where he will be sharing fond memories of his coaching journey of 50 years. A day before the function, when www.mid-day asked what the milestone means to him, he replied: “I cannot believe that I survived for so long. It’s really been a great, satisfying journey of 50 years. When I look back, I feel that when most of the players wanted to turn pro, I wanted to be a coach at the age of 22-23 since my father Sayed and my cousins including Akhtar Ali were into coaching. It was in 1974 when I passed out from Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports [NSNIS] in Patiala. I’ve enjoyed my stints at MSLTA, Cooperage [14 years], Cricket Club of India [28 years], Willingdon Sports Club and also the mentor at the PJ Hindu Gymkhana.”

Ali, who started his tennis journey in his hometown Kolkata in the 60s, is a renowned coach in Mumbai. His wards include Davis Cuppers Asif Ismail, Mark Ferriera and Gaurav Natekar. Of the many national champions he coached, Hari Aiyar, Nasreen Shujatalli and Divya Merchant remain a few he could recall. Ali’s most prominent student though has been Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, whom he trained when he joined the MSLTA Scheme at Bandra Gymkhana. The Lagaan actor was the Bombay inter-school under-14 tennis champion.