Badminton News: Dronacharya Pullela Gopichand on Saturday launched the Pullela Gopichand Academy Box, its third world-class training center in the city.
This vast six-court air-conditioned building is adjacent to the Nimmagadda Pullela Gopichand Academy, the first center created by Gopichand in 2007 with eight courts. A kilometer away from both is the Indian Sports Authority’s nine-court Gopichand Academy, where PV Sindhu received intensive training before winning an Olympic silver medal in 2016.
New structure with the collaboration of Kotak Mahindra Bank. The academy is designed to help players train on air-conditioned courts. Here they will learn to deal with the currents and other conditions they face in stadiums around the world.
The launch was attended by Pullea Gopichand, Senior Official and Trustee of LV Subrahmanyam Academy, Shanti Ekambaram, Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Jaimin Bhat, Chairman of Kotak Group, and academy trainees like Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth , HS Prannoy, Sai Praneeth, etc. Sindhou VP.
Satisfied with the launch of the new structure, Pullela Gopichand said, “The current badminton training center has a legacy of producing world champions who have led India to victory in major championships. We are grateful for Kotak’s financial support for CSR.
Crossing down memory lane, Gopichand says Indian badminton has come a long way to be recognized as the second most popular sport in the country.
“In 1994 the government refused to send a badminton team to the Commonwealth Games because they thought we couldn’t finish in the top six. From that stage to winning Olympic medals, to World Championships, we we’ve come a long way. It’s a dream come true,” Gopichand said.
In addition to the six courts, the High Performance Training Center includes a Sports Science Center with high quality resident nutritionists, a Coach Education Center and more. Shanti Ekambaram of Kotak said, “We are proud to work with Pullela Gopichand and her foundation dedicated to supporting athletes and growing passion for the sport in this country.
The academy’s first distinguished student, Saina Nehwal, says she is lucky to have Gopichand as her coach.
“I was there from the start. He took care of all aspects of our career. He called us every day and told us what to do. I only implemented 10% of what he has said and I achieved a lot,” Saina said, adding that he doesn’t want to play badminton.
“My father and my mother played badminton. But I didn’t want to practice this sport. I liked other sports but a friend of my father suggested that I do it. That’s how it all started” Saina said.
Parupalli Kashyap says he owes Gopichand a lot.
“He guided us so much that I often asked him, Anna, when I should read, eat or sleep.” HS Prannoy said he was lucky to be part of the academy.
“He was so busy with a lot of players that I was desperate for the 15 minutes he spent with me. I learned a lot from that,” Prannoy said.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth was one of the trainees in the 4:30 batch.
“My first badminton match was when I saw Gopi sir play the All England final. As a junior I watched Saina play the quarter finals of the Olympics. I thank Gopi sir for making me entered the academy in 2009. Initially I was a doubles player and he made me a singles player. I also learned a lot from Kashyap. He encouraged and inspired me a lot,” said Srikanth .
Doubles specialists Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa are grateful to Gopichand for providing them with first-class facilities to practice.
“I was one of the first trainees. I thank Gopi Anna for creating all these facilities for us,” Sikki said.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Priyanshu Rajawat, Gayatri Gopichand, Tanisha Crasto and several other artists participated in the program.
Article tags: Pullela Gopichand, Hyderabad, India, saina nehwal
