Bidyut K Goswami, who represented India in the Tehran Asiad in 1974 and was the national singles champion in 1979, has been honoured by Columbia University, where he has been a coach for 26 years now, with the establishment of an endowment.

During his time as head coach for men’s tennis, Goswami has led the university’s Lions team to six Ivy League titles.

Goswami hails from Assam, from a family of lawyers. He began his tennis at the Nehru Stadium Tennis Complex in Guwahati, before moving on to South Club, Kolkata.

In an email interview, he said there was no clear answer as to why he did not take up law like most of his relatives. “May be one less lawyer in this world isn’t such a bad idea,” he said. “But choosing tennis was easy. I had a passion for the sport from childhood and I’m glad my parents let me choose my passion, when they could have easily forced me to go the usual way to become a lawyer, a doctor, or an engineer. I think it’s important to know what your passion is and try to become the best at it.”

The endowment is part of a $ 100 million Columbia Campaign for Athletics: Achieving Excellence. The part that will be earmarked for Goswami comes from gifts of $ 2 million from Philip Milstein, Vice-Chairman of the University Trustees and a former tennis player for the university, and others who played for tennis for the university.

“I’m thrilled to be able to support the loyalty, dedication, and excellence that Bid Goswami has personified in his tenure at Columbia,” said Milstein. “This is one step in ensuring his influence impacts future generations of Columbians.”

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