Hyderabad: In the spectrum of Indian badminton, Pullela Gopichand is a big name. A shuttler turned coach Gopichand is the reason behind India's rise as a badminton powerhouse.
He is one of the few names who played a vital role in making the sport popular in India. Talking about Indian badminton the first name pops up in our mind is legend Prakash Padukone who was the first shuttler from the subcontinent to win sport's most prestigious tournament All England Open Badminton Championships in 1980.
India had to wait 21 years to bring back the Holy Grail of badminton home when Pullela Gopichand became the only second Indian to win the title in 2001. Gopichand, who was by no means a pre-tournament favourite, was only seeded in the 9-16 bracket. But when the tournament at Birmingham Arena started he emerged as a strong contender and eventually grabbed the title beating China's Chen Hong in straight games 15-12, 15-6. In his road to the grand finale, Gopichand had defeated then World No. 1 Peter Gade in the semifinal. It must be noted that when Gopichand went to Birmingham in 2001 Indians back home didn't expect much from him. Like many surprises that history noted down Gopichand's victory too came as a pleasant surprise to the badminton fraternity.
Gopichand has nerves of steel. He never bows down to difficulties. As a player, he endured several hardships in his career but his will power helped him to beat all odds and win several tournaments. Following his retirement, he dedicated time to reforming India badminton and shaping the career of the likes of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, B. Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth and many more.
Early life
Pullela Gopichand was born on November 16, 1973, to Pullela Subash Chandra and Subbaravamma at Nagandla village of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. He has two siblings, elder brother Pullela Rajasekhar and younger sister Himabindu. Gopichand completed his schooling from St. Paul High School.
He then earned a degree in public administration from A. V. College. Like most Indian kids, Gopichand too tried his hand in cricket. But badminton was his ultimate love. It was his elder brother Rajasekhar, a shuttler himself, introduced him to badminton and the rest, as they say, is history. By the age of 13, Gopichand started making all the right noises in the sport. He started playing badminton from the school competitions and proved himself as a superb talent as he was winning one after another inter-school tournament.
When he entered college, Indian badminton fraternity had become aware of his potential. So, he was chosen captain of the university team during national inter-university events. In 1991, Gopichand made his debut against Malaysia when he was selected for the Indian team. Between 1997 and 2000, he emerged as the country's most productive badminton player winning five national championships. At the same time, he won also two gold medals at the 1998 National Games.
International career- Struggle and success
After all the success at domestic competitions and junior internationals, Gopichand took big strides winning back to back gold at the SAARC Badminton Championship. He went on to bag two more medals in team events at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. His dominance over international badminton continued as he won Toulouse Open, Scottish Open and the Asian Satellite Open respectively.
But his journey was thorny. Medals that he won didn't come easily. Dedication and hard work were there, but Gopichand also had to fight with people who treated him badly. A major tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee during the National Games in Pune in 1994 raised question on his fitness. The injury forced him to undergo a knee reconstruction that ruled him out of the court for almost three years. However, Gopichand has nerves of steel. So, he bounced back like a champion. He worked on his fitness spending endless hours with physiotherapist and physical trainer.
Hard work definitely paid him off. Between 1997 and 2001, Gopichand gave up playing doubles, he completely focused on singles. He played nationals to regain the form before plying his trade at international tournaments. After clinching the 2000-2001 National Championships men's singles title, Gopichand was ready to take on top-notch international shuttlers.
Since he was coming back from injuries and didn't have much experience of playing international tournaments, experts didn't give Gopichand a shot before the 2001 All England Championships. But he proved the world wrong and went on to conquer the world title. The tournament showed the world a fighter in Gopichand who doesn't like talking much. He let his work talk for himself instead. His victory against Chen Hong in the final also debunked the old notion about Indian shuttlers that they could not beat Chinese shuttlers. He was rightly rewarded for winning the title as 2001 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna was conferred on him.
However, his All England laurel forced him to cut short his career as it further aggravated his troubled knee.
Gopichand showed the path, now his pupils have made it a habit.
Coaching career- Producing Olympic medallists
Following his retirement, Gopichand decided to dedicate his expertise to reforming the Indian badminton. In 2004, he was appointed as the Chief National Coach for Badminton Association of India (BAI). As a coach, he has nurtured a generation of players who proved themselves as some of the most feared shuttlers in international badminton.
But his decision to become a coach is another heartwarming story. The Hyderabad based Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, which is now regarded as the badminton hub of India, was built in 2008. But to build the 'Centre for Excellence' he had to mortgage his own house to complete the training centre. The academy had all the modern facilities that a shuttler requires. The academy has a gymnasium, swimming pool, yoga hall, ice bath and steam rooms and cafeteria and the presence of world-class fitness trainers, masseurs and dieticians. Six years after its formation, the World Badminton Federation (BWF) declared Gopichand's academy a centre of excellence.
Over the years, this academy has produced Olympic medal-winning shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, who is also a World Championships gold medallist, Super Series title winning shuttler Kidami Srikanth, Commonwealth Games medallist Parupalli Kashyap, World Championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth, doubles pair like Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and many other international champions.
Recognising Gopichand's contribution to Indian badminton the Government of India bestowed the 2009 Dronacharya Award on him. And in 2013, his academy, Pullela Gopichand Academy of Badminton, was awarded the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. In February this year, International Olympic Committee (IOC) also chipped in awarding Gopichand an 'Honourable Mention' in the male category of the 2019 IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Taking his achievement both as a player and coach into account, now it will not be incorrect to call Gopichand the ultimate badminton man of India as his contributions to the sport both as a player and coach is unmatchable.
