All posts tagged: Pullela Gopichand

Lakshya Sen can beat anybody in the world on his day: Pullela Gopichand

Lakshya Sen can beat anybody in the world on his day: Pullela Gopichand

Published by Webster

The draws for the 2026 BWF World Championships, which will be held in New Delhi from August 17 to 23, took place on Wednesday. After the draw, Pullela Gopichand shared his thoughts on India’s chances at the tournament. He spoke about Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty and the return of the World Championships to India after 17 years. Lakshya Sen, who won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships, will once again be one of India’s biggest hopes. Gopichand believes the Indian shuttler is now a more mature and experienced player, but admitted that the competition will not be easy. “Lakshya has had some good tournaments. He has won some big tournaments, but he has also missed out on a few big ones. Today, I would say Lakshya is much more mature. He has more experience on his side and has been able to win some big tournaments, but it will be tough,” he said. Despite that, Gopichand believes Lakshya has the ability to beat the world’s best players on his day. “Having said that, …

Gambling capital of world where PV Sindhu took first steps on road to stardom

Gambling capital of world where PV Sindhu took first steps on road to stardom

Published by Webster

One of only two non-Chinese to win the low-key Macau Open since it became a Grand Prix – now a Super 300 – PV Sindhu learnt early what it took to succeed at the elite level. It’s a jaw-dropping fact when one thinks of it: Sindhu had only five lower-tier Tour titles before she won the silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics – three in a hat-trick (2013-15) at what used to be the season-ender at Macau. Two others came at Malaysia, and she had her two bronze medals at World Championships and another third place at the Asian Championships, a harbinger of what was to come. But those three seasons with wins at Macau were an indication of how hard she fought even when nobody was watching. For the likes of Ashmita Chaliha and Anmol Kharb, who made the quarters at least at Macau, that is the Sindhu-development period they need to study carefully. The Macau wins had a few routines. Back then, Sindhu was in Saina Nehwal’s shadow, so when she took her …

Lakshya Sen finishes runner-up at All England Open

Lakshya Sen finishes runner-up at All England Open

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“I tried everything,” Lakshya Sen said after a draining week in Birmingham, his voice heavy with emotion after narrowly missing out on the All England Open 2026 title. The Indian shuttler finished runner-up after going down 21-15, 22-20 to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in the men’s singles final on Sunday, bringing an end to a spirited run at one of badminton’s most prestigious tournaments. Sen had spent more than five hours on court during the week leading up to the final and was visibly battling fatigue by the time he stepped onto the court for the title clash. Lin capitalised on the slow start, attacking Sen’s lifts and punishing anything short to take the opening game 21-15. “I think it was a good match today. In the first set, he was the better player,” Sen admitted later. He was talking to BWF after the final. But the Indian found another gear in the second game. Raising the tempo of the rallies and forcing mistakes from Lin, Sen strung together six straight points from 3-4 to …

Sindhu, Srikanth, and the All England question: Gopichand on its relevance and India’s hopes | Badminton News

Sindhu, Srikanth, and the All England question: Gopichand on its relevance and India’s hopes | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Pullela Gopichand doesn’t reckon PV Sindhu or Kidambi Srikanth’s legacies will be incomplete if they never win the All England. The tournament, though, needs a shake-up to remain a must-win on every illustrious badminton CV. However, having won it himself, the last Indian to do so, he can’t stop wondering if another might come along and get the thing done, at the upcoming edition in a fortnight, from March 3-8. “Sindhu still can win, she has it in her…and I think someone like Ayush Shetty has a very good chance to turn up out of the blue and win it,” he says, 25 years after his own defining triumph, while upbeat about fellow Indians. The emotion of his win has crystallised into a clear perspective. “What’s so special about All England?” some current players ask. “Since I won it, I’ll say it’s a big deal!” Gopichand laughs but understands why it might not hold the same reverence today. It’s the closest that badminton has to a storied chronicle, a tapestry that goes back considerable years. …

HS Prannoy on finding motivation to keep going: ‘Coach Gopichand always says to stay long in the game’ | Badminton News

HS Prannoy on finding motivation to keep going: ‘Coach Gopichand always says to stay long in the game’ | Badminton News

Published by Webster

‘Stay Long’ is the mantra badminton players follow while grinding out a three-game thriller, and veteran Indian shuttler HS Prannoy is using that to navigate through a tough phase of his career. The 2023 World Championships medallist had a tough 2025 season, struggling with injuries and loss of form. However, during the tough times, the words of his long-time guru Pullela Gopichand have stayed with him. “He always says to stay long in the game. I have asked him if I should I just wrap it up? He always believes that things might be a little topsy-turvy at times in your career, but it’s important to stay in the fight because good things happen only when you are staying there,” Prannoy said after winning his first-round game at the India Open Super 750 on Wednesday. A last-minute entry to the tournament due to withdrawals, Prannoy defeated last edition’s runner-up Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in straight games 22-20, 21-18. Going through a phase of self-doubt after his 2025 season, Prannoy said that he found …

Fitter, philosophical, still hungry Kidambi Srikanth enters quarterfinal in Malaysia Masters | Badminton News

Fitter, philosophical, still hungry Kidambi Srikanth enters quarterfinal in Malaysia Masters | Badminton News

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Call it the natural aura of a former World No 1. Or just the way Kidambi Srikanth’s brain is wired at exalted levels, to enjoy badminton, without letting losses lacerate his spirit. But while repeated defeats over the last few years have injected humility into his training, they have not humbled his regal court-bearing. Last week at Thailand, Srikanth lost in the qualifying round against young compatriot Tharun Mannepalli on Day 1. In Malaysia this week by Day 3, he has already won 4 matches after coming through the qualifying draw, and is now surprisingly India’s sole singles quarterfinalist. When he wins you can’t pinpoint why he loses so much, and the way he loses, you can’t figure how he ever managed to win. Coach Pullela Gopichand has admitted Srikanth’s losses and unforced errors drive him “crazy”. Through it all, coach Guru Saidutt informs, Srikanth himself is rarely frazzled. “He’s gifted in never slumping in belief, and bounces back from the worst losses, faster than anyone I know. It’s this aura he carries,” Guru concludes. …

Does not having won All England (yet) diminish legacies of current Indian superstar shuttlers? | Badminton News

Does not having won All England (yet) diminish legacies of current Indian superstar shuttlers? | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Two All England finals featuring Indians, and no titles, in the last 15 years – considered high-achieving for the sport – will go down as a serious, inexplicable anomaly for badminton. You can spin it whichever you like – cynically, by saying that the All England is nothing special anymore, though nobody else in the badminton world believes that. Or that none of the Indians could quite time their peaks or work monkishly towards it like Prakash Padukone or Pullela Gopichand, did. But as yet another edition takes off at Birmingham in the coming week, it will remain a gaping hole in career summaries and a large unticked box for some of the biggest names in Indian badminton. It’s nearing a quarter of a century since Gopichand won the last one in 2001, when almost a fourth of present-day India wasn’t even born. So you can hardly blame the present-day stars for not setting too much store on it. The All England itself ceased being the most prestigious event in badminton once the sport debuted …

Listen to Pullela Gopichand: How about roping Indian athletes to take charge of fitness in corporations? | Badminton News

Listen to Pullela Gopichand: How about roping Indian athletes to take charge of fitness in corporations? | Badminton News

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Does every Indian office – in the public sector, or private, need a CFiO – a Chief Fitness Officer for its employees? And is badminton best suited to be the chosen sport that blends recreation and fitness for India’s office population? In a week when India’s national coach Pullela Gopichand went fairly bonkers giving middle class athletes a dose of realism, asking them to keep academics as back-up, if you wanted to secure a better lifestyle than your mother or father did, the former All England champion, was the first to spell out the nuance: he was extremely passionate, militant even, about universal physical literacy for Indians. He prized the health benefits of sport for a billion, more than the tunnel visioned goal of churning out a handful of sporting stars, while pursuing the very niche, elite goal of increasing 6 Olympic medals to 60. Gopichand has been mulling over these ideas since 2017, stewing almost in the helplessness of bringing about this large-scale change. How athletes at the bottom of the pyramid get treated …

Why Dhoni quit his Railway ticket collector job and Gopi wants respect for sports quota players | Cricket News

Why Dhoni quit his Railway ticket collector job and Gopi wants respect for sports quota players | Cricket News

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Next time you travel by train and spot a fit-looking Ticket Collector (TC) seemingly bored with his job, try remembering the face. The person in the black coat and tie with a reservation chart in hand could be a future sporting star biding his time, tolerating life’s struggles to pursue his grand secret dream. Try taking a picture, you never know, it could be the next MS Dhoni. National badminton coach and a formidable voice in Indian sport, P Gopichand put that nondescript railway employee under the spotlight when this last week, he articulated the pain and dilemma of those getting sarkari jobs under the sports quota. Story continues below this ad With the disclaimer that no employment is lower or higher, he said sportspeople “struggle to find excitement in anything” beyond the sporting arena. Not the least, working as a TC or the president of a sports body. “TC is very tough and others don’t understand the motivation struggle and having to say ‘Yes sir, yes sir’ to IAS officers even when we talk …

Sports ministry introduces new course to help elite athletes become coaches | Sport-others News

Sports ministry introduces new course to help elite athletes become coaches | Sport-others News

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The Sports Ministry has introduced a ‘Special Capacity Building Course’ aimed at helping elite athletes to become coaches, referees, and technical officials. The decision was taken keeping in mind the lack of coaches in the country at the elite level. Talking about the ‘Special Capacity Building Course’, sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “I see a lack of elite Indian coaches. This course will enable the former Indian sportspersons who are doing clerical jobs and other office jobs at the PSUs and ministries. We can bring all these sports persons as not only coaches but also as referees and technical officials. All of these guys will be trained by experts from the NIS, Patiala.” Story continues below this ad Former All England champion and renowned badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, in a recent interview to The Indian Express, had highlighted the lack of respect at the workplace for former athletes who have sports quota jobs and said helping them upskill was the need of the hour. “Education and sport have to go together, and skilling and exit …