P. Gopichand: Giving flight to Indian badminton

A victorious Pullela Gopichand with the trophy after winning the Mens Singles title at the 2011 Yonex All England Championships in Birmingham. (Getty Images)

“Finding a good coach, a good sparring partner and good shuttles was very difficult.” said Gopichand, as he attempted to compare the times.

The hard times manifested in his deep-seated resolve to ensure that the coming generation had no such obstacles in their way.

The results from all of these efforts put in by Gopichand and crew are there for everyone to see. Saina Nehwal was first out of the line, when she emerged as a talented youngster. She took the world by storm when she became the first Indian girl to win the BWF World Junior Championship in 2008.

11 major titles, a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2010, an Asian Championships bronze in the same year and an Olympic bronze in London in 2012 have since followed. Delighted would be an understatement to describe Gopichand’s feelings after Saina’s momentous bronze at the Olympics last year.

“This is really huge for Indian badminton. It has been my dream for many years,” Gopichand said in a choked voice before moving on for more media interviews lined up after that historic feat.

She has not managed to yet attain that No.1 ranking (though, she did reach as high as No.2 in 2010), but she has been a regular in the top 5 in the world over the last 3 years – no mean achievement. She is one of the few players who looks equipped to break China’s hegemony at the top of the women’s game.

After having been somewhat of a lone ranger for India for much of the last five years, she now has company as the likes of Parupalli Kashyap, Sindhu, Ashwini Ponnappa, Sai Praneeth, Gurusai Dutt and K.Srikanth have all come through the ranks, making rapid strides.

Together with Sindhu, the duo will look to join forces and launch a combined assault on that coveted top ranking in women’s badminton.