HYDERABAD: Pullela Gopichand, the Chief National Coach of Indian badminton, presided as the Chief Guest at the annual Sports Day of Hyderabad Public School recently. CE speaks with the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee about his coaching philosophy, memorable moments and whether the new kids carry the grit and passion as in the older days.
Could you share some insights into your coaching philosophy and training methods?
In my opinion, each person has different strengths. A lot of things need to be taken into consideration: the stage at which they are, their objectives, and their motivations, all are very important. It’s not that there is one philosophy that has to fit. It is, whatever is best for the athlete. As a coach, it’s important to find a way to ensure that they achieve the best possible results.
Reflecting on your playing career, what learnings could you say you carried into coaching?
I think everything has been an experience as a player, which has really shaped my playing. My playing career is actually shaped by the way in which I coach. A lot of things we’ve learned from many coaches over time: be it my grassroots coach, or my initial coach, Hamid Hussain. Or whether it is Arif sir, Prakash (Padukone) sir, Ganguly Prasad, or a couple of Chinese coaches. I learned a lot from them. But also I learned a lot through trial and error. For me, I think all of those experiences of what worked and what didn’t work have been very helpful with my coaching career.
Could you share some memorable moments from your career as a badminton champion?
There are a lot of things, I think. The day I started, itself was great. I really loved the sport. I’ve always loved the sport. And I’ve played it very passionately right from the school level. I really loved all my school tournaments. I went on to play for the state. And I’ve got great memories of me playing for the state and also national and international governments and team events, which I actually have great memories from. So I think each stage of my career is important. And I really enjoyed my sports. I can’t say that this one is what I enjoyed. I really relished each moment and I’m grateful for the kind of experiences I’ve had as a player.
Do you think the emerging players have the same kind of grit and willingness to work hard as in earlier days?
I think that times have changed and the motivations are different. But definitely, I do think that the players have the grit and determination for sure. Sometimes, to put their head down and keep working for long periods of time with patience is a challenge. I don’t think putting in hard work, they have any doubt. But to actually put in hard work for long periods without tournaments, or without great results, I think they kind of tend to get a little down.
So that’s where I would see a slight difference from the earlier times, where we would train in January for a tournament that was going to take place in December. We would think of December and keep training for about 10 months. But that’s not the case anymore. They really are looking forward to a tournament within the next month and planning for the long term. So as part of that strategy, we need to change our coaching strategies as well.
What memories do you have of Hyderabad as a young person growing up in the city?
I think whether it’s playing in an apartment because I broke a few windowpanes playing in the apartment, starting badminton, or my school days in St Paul’s, or school tournaments in Mountfort, growing up and becoming a junior national champion and coming back to the stadium or winning the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001 and coming back to Hyderabad, I think all of them are great memories. I think it’s a great city. I really love the city and I am truly proud of my city.
What words of wisdom do you want to share with students at HPS?
I think we look at a generation now that is more aware than ever before. We look at kids who have a lot of confidence and a lot of knowledge about the world. And I think for me, to interact with them and share some of my experiences of the sport is a nice experience. I look at this generation as being go-getters, and some of these people have great talents and I’m very happy to be interacting with them.