He mortgaged his house to establish the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad after retiring in 2008, took up a stiff challenge from renowned Industrialist Nimmagada Prasad who donated a large sum to the Academy on a condition that his Academy produce an Olympic medal winner and toiled passionately and endlessly to produce an array of players that have made India a Badminton powerhouse, safely and strongly entrenched in a domain of their own.
The prestigious Thomas Cup victory beating 14 time Champion Indonesia is truly a testament to the grind and painstaking efforts of Pullela Gopichand, the winner of the All England Championship in 2001 and the present Chief Coach of the Indian National Badminton Team. Gopichand always excelled as a player and as a coach too he has been beyond exceptional, a true Champion Maker.
It all started with Saina Nehwal, when the ace shuttler coached rigorously by Gopichand became a force to reckon with in the world winning an Olympic Bronze in 2012 Olympics .The flawless PV Sindhu, who has created an aura of her own, followed in the steps of Saina Nehwal, winning the silver in 2016 and a bronze in 2020 Olympics and became the first Indian to win the Gold medal at BWF World Championships. Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap and Srikanth Kadambi, products of the Academy have further strengthened India’s position in World Badminton.
The Thomas Cup Final played at the Impact Arena in Bangkok witnessed a tough as nails resilient Indian Team. Lakshya Sen’s victory in the first match after losing the first game was nothing short of inspirational. The young talent is going to be the face of Indian Badminton in the coming years, without doubt. The second match was again a humdinger but the India duo of Satviksairaj and Chirag Shetty displaying some amazing defence and attacking skills prevailed over their Indonesian opponents. The third match and the clincher saw a clinical performance from Srikanth Kadambi thus sealing a 3-0 victory for India.
India’s historical success at the Thomas Cup has been hailed across the world. The well chiseled skill and mental toughness displayed by the players have to be attributed to the long and arduous efforts of Gopichand no end. As the country celebrates another sporting high and rejoices in Thomas Cup glory, Pullela Gopichand is already planning another conquest.
Great going Gopichand….kudos to your Thomas Cup !!