SPORTS

Pullela Gopichand –  former Indian badminton player

Pullela Gopichand, (born 16 November 1973, Nagandla, India), Indian badminton player who in 2001 became the second Indian to win the England Men’s Badminton Singles Championship.

Gopichand’s family moved to Hyderabad when he was a boy. He didn’t start playing badminton until he was 11, and played the game for fun and not competitively.

Gradually, Gopichand started participating in regional tournaments, and in 1991 he was selected for his state junior badminton team. He won the junior national championship at the age of 18 and the men’s national championship three years later.

Education

Even as a child, Pullela Gopichand was fond of sports. He likes many sports, but he especially likes badminton. At that time, he was playing the game just for fun, not for any kind of reward or competition.

When he was a teenager, he attended St. Paul. It was at this time that he started participating in badminton competitions.

After high school, Gopichand went to A.V. College. Pullela Gopichand graduated in Public Administration. In 1990, he also started playing in the Indian university badminton team.

He continued to play in this team throughout 1990 and early 1991. At the same time, he was also trying to further his education by studying engineering. However, he failed these classes and dropped out of college.

Carrer of Pullela Gopichand

Pullela Gopichand won the National Junior Championship at the age of 18. As he began to progress as a player, he realized the importance of professional training. He moved to Bangalore (Bengaluru) where he was admitted to the Prakash Padukone badminton academy run by the famous badminton player.

Gopichand got off to a good start but a series of knee injuries in the mid-1990s threatened to end his career. The major injury he suffered in 1994 was particularly bad. When Dr. After Ashok Rajgopal operated on him to repair his knee, he found himself in constant pain and could not even walk properly for months.

Determined to return to the sport she loved so much, she took up yoga and worked hard to get back in shape. He made a remarkable comeback to win his first badminton national championship title in 1996, and won the title five times in a row, until 2000.

In 1996 he also won the gold medal in the SAARC badminton championship and defended the crown the following year.
He played for Germany from 1997 to 1999 and represented India in three Thomas Cup tournaments. His good form helped him win two gold and silver medals at the Indian National Games, held in Imphal, in 1998.

In the same year, he won a silver medal in the team event and a bronze medal in the children’s event. men in 1998. Commonwealth Games. His success continued in the following years and he won the Toulouse Open Championship in France and the Scottish Open Championship in Scotland in 1999.

In the same year, he also claimed victory in the Asian satellite tournament organized in Hyderabad. He reached the pinnacle of his career in 2001 when he won the All England Open badminton tournament in Birmingham.

He defeated international Peter Gade in the semi-finals and beat China’s Chen Hong 15-12, 15-6 in the final to lift the trophy. In doing so, he became the second Indian to win the award after his mentor Prakash Padukone, who won in 1980.
Now 27 years old and struggling with a few injuries during this epic victory, Gopichand knows he has little time left as a player.

So he decided to concentrate on creating a coaching school for aspiring badminton players.
Gopichand Badminton Academy, a badminton training center in Hyderabad, was established in 2008.

The facility, inspired by the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, boasts of a world-class training facility. In addition, physiotherapy, diet and nutrition programs are also available.

Awards and achievements

Dominated the national badminton championships five times in a row (1996-2000)
won the SAARC badminton championship in 1996 and 1997

Won two gold and one silver medals in 1998 Indian National Games held in Imphal
Represented the country in three Thomas Cup tournaments

Won a bronze medal in the men’s singles and helped the national team win silver at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, Kuala Lumpur.
In 1999 he won the Toulouse Open and the Scottish Open and received the Arjuna Award from the Indian government.
Won the All England Badminton Championship in 2001 and became the second Indian to win the title behind Prakash Padukone.

In the same year, he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2001. The Government of India awarded Padma Shri to eminent Indian citizens in 2005
Awarded Dronacharya Award in 2009
Pullela Gopichand Academy of Badminton was honored by the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar in 2013 in the category “Establishment and Management of the Best Sports Academy.”
The Government of India awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2014
Coach of Indian Olympic badminton team at Rio 2016 Olympics
The country’s leading badminton players named P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap, Srikanth Kidambi, Arundhati Pantawane, Gurusai Datt and Arun Vishnu are students of Gopichand Badminton Academy and studied under his tutelage.