Pullela Gopichand

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Pullela Gopichand bigraphy, stories - Indian badminton player

Pullela Gopichand : biography

16 November 1973 –

Pullela Gopichand (Telugu : పుల్లెల గొపీచంద్) (born on November 16, 1973 in Nagandla of Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh) is an Indian Badminton player.

He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001 defeating Chen Hong of China in the finals by 15-12,15-6. He became the second Indian to achieve this feat after Prakash Padukone, who won it in 1980.

He was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2001. But later on, his game was affected due to injuries and his ranking dropped to 126 in the year 2003. In 2005, he was awarded the Padma Shri.

Now, he runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy. He is now a very renowned coach who received the Dronacharya Award and is the main force behind the emergence of Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap. In 2012, former Indian badminton players Sanjay Sharma and Shachi Sharma published a biography on him entitled "Pullela Gopichand: The World Beneath His Feet."

Quotes

–"I think competitive sport helps one to learn to endure failure, disappointment and injury. In any other sphere of life, this may not be possible."

–"As a result of aggressive marketing by cola companies, people have stopped drinking healthy drinks like fruit juices and people in the villages have actually begun to believe that soft drinks are good for health. Aerated drinks are not only bad for health, they are also bad for local industry. Thanks to aerated drinks, it’s becoming more and more difficult to find nimbu sherbet and coconut water."

Awards and honours

To commemorate his excellent achievements as a badminton player at both national and international level, the Government of India awarded him the Arjuna Award in the year 1999. Further in 2001, he was bestowed upon the highest Indian honour in the field of sports, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. After he won The All England Badminton championship, the Government of Andhra Pradesh rewarded him with a cash prize and a plot in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad as a token of appreciation. In the year 2005, he was conferred the Padma Shri Award. He received the Dronacharya Award on 29 August 2009 for his contribution to Indian badminton as a coach.

International Badminton

Gopichand made his debut into International Badminton in 1991 when he was selected to play against Malaysia. In his International Badminton career, he represented the nation in 3 Thomas Cup tournaments. In 1996 he grabbed a Gold Medal in the SAARC Badminton Tournament held at Vijayawada, and repeated the victory in the same tournament held at Colombo in 1997. At the Commonwealth Games, he won a Silver Medal in the team event and a Bronze Medal in the singles event.

He was able to get his first big boost up at International level in 1997 in the Indian Grand Prix Tournament held at Delhi. At the event, Gopichand continuously defeated an array of top-seeded players from all around the world, although he lost in the Final Match. In 1999, he won the Toulouze Open Championship in France, and the Scottish Open Championship in Scotland. Continuing his smashing form, he emerged winner at the Asian Satellite tournament held at Hyderabad the same year, and lost in the Final match of the German Grand Prix Championship.

National Badminton

He won his first National Badminton Championship title in 1996, and won the title five times in a row, till 2000. He also won two Gold Medals and one Silver Medal at the National Games 1998 held at Imphal. The same year, Gopichand led the State Badminton team of Andhra Pradesh to win the prestigious Rahmatulla Cup.

All England badminton Championship

The proudest moments of Gopichand’s lifetime arrived in the year 2001, when he recreated the history by winning the prestigious 2001 All England Open Badminton Championships at London. In the Championship, he defeated Danish player Anders Boesen in the Quarter-Final round, while in the Semi-Final round he beat the then world number one Peter Gade in 2 tough sets. Finally, he outperformed Chen Hong of China by 15-12, 15-6 to lift the coveted title, and to achieve the feat that had been accomplished by only one Indian till then, the legendary Prakash Padukone.

Early life

Pullela Gopichand was born on November 16, 1973 to Pullela Shubhash Chandra and Subbaravamma. Initially Gopichand was more interested in playing Cricket, but later his elder brother Rajashekar initiated him to take up the game of Badminton instead. He studied at the St. Paul’s School, and even when he was only 10, his prowess in Badminton was highly regarded at his School.

Gopichand suffered a ligament rupture in 1986 when he was 13. He had won the Singles and the Doubles title at the Inter School Competition earlier that year. Undeterred by the injury, he bounced back soon and reached the Final round of the Andhra Pradesh State Junior Badminton Championship, only to lose the title to his own elder brother. By 1988, when he finished his schooling, Gopichand had made a mark for himself in the Badminton circuit. He joined A. V. College, Hyderabad and graduated in Public Administration. He was the Captain of the Indian Combined Universities Badminton team in 1990 and 1991.

Gopi received his initial coaching from S. M. Arif before Prakash Padukone accepted him in the BPL Prakash Padukone Academy. Gopi also received training under Ganguly Prasad at the SAI Bangalore.

Gopichand married fellow Olympian badminton player P.V.V Lakshmi on June 5, 2002. Lakshmi is also from Andhra Pradesh, home state of Gopichand.