P. Gopichand: Giving flight to Indian badminton

The men’s field is also suddenly teeming with talent. Gone are the days when you would find one Indian male player in the top 50. The pool of talent is brimming now with the likes of Kashyap, Dutt, H.S. Prannoy, Sai Praneeth and Srikanth.

Gurusai Dutt is a talented youngster from the academy who has been on a pretty good run. He has had a good set of results this year and has managed to reach the 20^th spot in the world rankings. We will get to see a lot of him in the Indian Badminton League. Much the same case with Praneeth and Srikanth.

Who knows, soon we could have 2 top 10 men’s players in addition to the women.

Physical fitness is one area where Indian sportspersons have always come under the scanner. They have often been accused of not being able to go the distance. Knowing fully well it’s importance, this is one aspect where the academy does not compromise. H S Prannoy, another of India’s young prospects, spoke about the special emphasis that the academy places and the effect that it has had on him and some of the other players.

“Our players used to lose matches due to a lack of physical fitness,” said Prannoy, a Youth Olympics silver medallist.

“The trend is changing. I have improved a lot since I joined the academy three years back. During my training for the Youth Olympics, Gopi bhaiyya played with me for a month, which gave me strength and confidence. He stays at the Academy from early morning till evening, and you can approach him any time for tips or feedback.” he went on to add.

Physical training, constant feedback, mentoring, skill development, player education and of course, a whole host of other coaching drills is what Gopichand and his team at the academy put their trainees through as they attempt to provide a holistic training program to these aspiring shuttlers.

The parents of PV Sindhu, who became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the World Badminton Championships, had little doubt as to where the secret of their daughter’s success lay; they dedicated the 18-year-old’s achievement to chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.

Speaking to the other players too would elicit a similar sort of response.