HYDERABAD: The emergence of badminton as one of the most sought-after sporting disciplines has been spearheaded by former All England Champion and the current chief national coach Pullela Gopichand. While it has been a while since he became a household name, his daughter Gayatri Gopichand took her first few steps in the same direction, with her name getting included in the 20-member Asian Games squad. This will be the first time she would get to represent senior India side.
Owing to her impressive outings in the recently held two All India Senior Ranking tournaments (in Bengaluru and Hyderabad), she became the youngest member of the squad at 15 when the Badminton Association of India announced the team for the quadrennial extravaganza on Wednesday. “She is very calm and collected. She plays a very dominating game. She was a cut above the rest when she played at the junior level. In these two senior-ranking tournaments, she was up against many senior players and she showed her strength,” said Trupti Murgunde, former national champion and current junior selection committee member, to Express.
The ranking tournament held at the Pullela Gopichand Academy (which was only her second senior ranking event) was particularly good for her. On her way to the semi-finals, she trampled seasoned seniors like Saili Rane (23-21, 21-9). Out of the 20, seven have been chosen based on their outings in the ranking tournaments. Winner of the Hyderabad women’s singles event Ashmita Chaliha is one of the few, other than Gayatri, who made heads turn. The BAI had exempted top players such as PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal from these tournaments.
The governing body is now looking to follow the same route to select the national squad for other tournaments. “We have selected players based on current form. This way we can ensure transparency and new talent can be spotted. In the future, similar tournaments will be organised to select players,” said Ajay K Singhania, BAI general secretary. Murgunde said that the same selection procedure was practised in her playing days.
“When we played, selection tournaments were conducted just like the ones which were held a few days ago. Now, the same procedure is coming back to life. And in my opinion, this is the most transparent way to choose shuttlers,” the 36-year-old said. The selection-cum-ranking tournament approach seems to have reaped dividends for teenaged Gopichand.