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| Arjuna 1999, Dronacharya 2009 |
| Thursday July 23, 2009 |
| I met Pullela Gopichand first in July 1998 for an interview at the Lal Bahadur stadium in Hyderabad, very close to where he used to live those days. When we reached the ground, we found preparations underway at the stadium for a film nite, later that evening. One insolent organiser gestured to us not to set up our camera anywhere on the ground. "Who is he?"' he asked rudely, pointing to Gopichand. "He is India's national badminton champion,'' I replied. "Okay. But you cannot do the interview here. We are organising a Raveena Tandon nite here." I stood my ground and completed the interview at the stadium, firm in my belief that Gopi has more right to the stadium than any Bollywood actress. But then this is India, that follows no sport other than cricket. Little surprise then that an All-England title, an Arjuna Award, a Rajiv Khel Ratna award and a Padma Shri later, Gopi met another gentleman last year, who too asked "Aap Kaun?" What was shameful was that this was India's Sports minister, M S Gill, who asked Gopi to introduce himself. This when Gopi and his pupil, Saina Nehwal went to meet the minister in Delhi, after Saina had reached the quarter-finals at the Beijing Olympics. Today as Gopichand is feted with the Dronacharya Award, the highest sporting honour for coaches in the country, it is almost as if India says sorry for insults like these. Gopi incidentally is the only Indian sportsperson to win all three top sporting honours: the Arjuna Award in 1999, the Rajiv Khel Ratna Award in 2001 and now the Dronacharya Award. Richly deserved. Having known Gopi for eleven years, I divide his playing career into the pre-All-England triumph and post that heady victory. His life was a struggle before All-England happened in 2001. His knee injury almost crippled his dreams of playing badminton. Practising in the stuffy indoor stadium in Hyderabad took its toll on the best of players. Gopi's constant refrain as a player used to be how the Badminton Association of India needs to recognise his need for a permanent travelling coach. I remember him cribbing about the quality of advice mediocre coaches would hand out to him. What do they tell you before an important match, I asked him once. Gopi's answer stumped me. "They would tell me, don't hit the shuttle into the net, keep varying my shots, not to get tired." I remember Gopi and his mom calling me that evening in 1998, after my story on him was aired. Just to say thank you. Not that they had to. His All-England victory made him a star. But he lost none of his humility and polite demeanour post-2001. Yes, the Gopi vs Chetan Anand-Jwala Gutta spat portrayed him as a stubborn coach, with insinuations that he perhaps did not have their best interest at heart. But every time Gopi has been pushed to the back of the court, he has let his racquet do the talking. This time as Saina's coach, by putting in even more effort into her gamesmanship. Gopi's immediate test would be how well Saina, his favourite ward performs at the World championships in August. Yes, there will be a strong home crowd rooting for her in Hyderabad. But that will not be enough. The championships are as much a test for Gopi as they are for Saina. Gopi has to think out of the box to come up with match-winning strategies for Saina. The two share a special bond. Saina will not do anything that Gopi Bhaiya has said no to. That's the kind of respect he commands. The Dronacharya Award for Gopi and Arjuna Award for Saina may have been just perfectly timed. To show they indeed are the best teacher-pupil combine in the world of badminton. All the best! |
T S Sudhir is Resident Editor (South) and has been with NDTV since February 1995. He has reported extensively on politics, Naxalism, business, sports, entertainment and is one of the seniormost television journalists in the country today.
