Pullela Gopichand is the second Indian to win the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championship (2001). A former Olympian, he coached Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to Olympic success.
Honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1999, Gopichand is often called the ‘Dronacharya of Indian Badminton.’ Since 2004, he has been running an academy in Hyderabad, where players like Srikanth Kidambi, Parupalli Kashyap, H.S. Prannoy, Sai Praneeth, and Sameer Verma have trained and brought glory to India.
In this episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Gopichand addresses the controversy around his remark that "only the rich should play sports." He clarifies that his concern is about the lack of support for athletes after retirement. He points out that while one in a hundred may reach the top, the rest need a safety net.
He also talks about how the government can do more to support athletes, the evolution of sports in India, and what it takes to create champions. He also discusses the impact of social media trolling on athletes’ mental health and the reality behind sports quota jobs.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming Up
01:52 - Introduction
02:41 - ‘Sports are for the Rich’ Controversy
09:57 - Securing an Athlete’s Future
15:36 - Post-Career Support for Athletes
21:46 - Wealth Disparity in Sports
27:19 - Government’s Role in Athlete Welfare
27:41 - Struggles of Athletes
29:56 - From Badminton Player to Coach
38:34 - How Sports Have Evolved
42:42 - Best Sports Choices for Kids
46:03 - Coaching Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu
50:00 - Bias in Coaching
55:08 - Dealing with Social Media Trolling
56:50 - An Athlete’s Diet: What It Takes
01:00:03 - Southeast Asian vs. European Players
01:03:17 - PM’s Role in Sports Development
01:04:40 - Sports Career Options: Then vs. Now
01:09:11 - Sports Quota Jobs
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