Sports
You can always trust a politician to ruin a happy moment. Always.
Updated : Sep 30, 2017, 09:15 AM IST
It takes a different level of shame to be a modern-day politician. After being hand-in-glove in a corrupt system that prevents Indian athletes from getting even the basic facilities, perfectly epitomised by the fact that there was no one to give water to marathon runner OP Jaisha at Rio, they act like blood-sucking leeches when an athlete actually wins something. This was perfectly epitomised by the sheer number of politicians from every state announcing cash prizes for successful athletes when they were AWOL when the same athletes needed basic training facilities.
If you were an alien who’d just arrived on earth and checked out PV Sindhu’s victory parade you’d be mistaken for thinking that Mohammad Mahmood Ali, deputy CM of Telangana had won the medal instead of Sindhu. And being in the spotlight wasn’t all that Mahmood Ali was content with, the TRS politician actually claimed that the state government is ‘planning’ to give ‘proper coaching’ to Sindhu so that she can fetch ‘gold’ next time!
Perhaps Ali doesn’t believe in checking the news because even the most basic of Google searches would’ve told him about P Gopichand’s badminton school which seems like the nation’s best bet to provide medals in the upcoming Olympics.
Telangana: We are planning to give Sindhu proper coaching so that she can fetch gold next time: Mahmood Ali, Dep CM pic.twitter.com/BZwtj7JC0N
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 22, 2016
There can't be a better coach than Gopichand, wat do u mean by proper coaching you moron@ani_news
— Ratnakar Sadasyula (@ScorpiusMaximus) August 22, 2016
@ANI_news you think she didn't get proper coaching? You think #Sindhu could earn even the silver without proper coaching?
— অর্ণব (@arniels) August 22, 2016
I object to the "we", the "proper", the "fetch", and actually all the other words in this statement. https://t.co/ANLrfQJ4Ma
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) August 22, 2016
Trust duffer netas to offer Sindhu the one thing she doesn't need. https://t.co/TDr05NN5x0
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 22, 2016
Speaking of tone deaf idiots in government: YOU are planning to give Sindhu “proper coaching”? Leave her alone!! https://t.co/b8nGOi8bEX
— Prem Panicker (@prempanicker) August 22, 2016
This is precisely the reason why politicians should keep out of sports. https://t.co/xUQst90BAU
— T S Sudhir (@Iamtssudhir) August 22, 2016
I dunno which party he belongs to but an utter chutiya statement he made https://t.co/ZR2Fkib8dI
— Ra_Bies (@Ra_Bies) August 22, 2016
The best training you can give her is to shut up about things you don't know.
— Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) August 22, 2016
Go train with Vijay Goel for a Selfie. https://t.co/Eac7YIvu29
By giving her your kind of "proper" training are you making sure she doesn't get even a silver medal next time? https://t.co/ffQkHLxjmL
— LEENA (@kunfaaya) August 22, 2016
Modiji and Amitji will coach her directly next time. https://t.co/C86e1Yuo4s
— Prasanto K Roy (@prasanto) August 22, 2016
and Gopichand will give coaching to Dance India Dance contestants..
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) August 22, 2016
https://t.co/L2mumDiiAR
Ignorant / insensitive? Mahmood Ali, Deputy CM Telangana says P. Gopichand is good but planning to get better https://t.co/jEFhnSVfO8
— GAURAV C SAWANT (@gauravcsawant) August 22, 2016
"Proper coaching"? Gopi will be feeling insulted. https://t.co/UbbAZepO35
— Nikhil Mehra (@TweetinderKaul) August 22, 2016
Please spare #PVSindhu - I hope you know the meaning of coaching https://t.co/opkJmx5u6o
— Sanjay Dixit (@Sanjay_Dixit) August 22, 2016
Gopichand says Sindhu hasn’t achieved her full potential
Shuttler P V Sindhu might have clinched the silver medal at Rio Olympics but mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand believes his ward is still far away from achieving her full potential and said she has the talent to be head and shoulders above the rest in the world.
"I think she is still far away from complete transformation. I believe we have just seen glimpses of the what she is capable of. She has got potential and I was waiting for her to realise that. It might take time," Gopichand told reporters.
"We need to be patient. We need to understand that results may not come as consistently as we want them. But it is important she understand and tries. She is still 21 and she has probably another 10 years and once she realises what I see in my eyes, she will be head and shoulder above the rest of the world," he added.
Heaping praise on Sindhu, Gopichand said: "The fact that at this big stage, when it needed the most, she performed, it is huge. Many times athletes can have the belief but crack in the final moments.
"We had a great progress and fantastic preparation for the Olympics even in Rio as we were living in the same flat.
So we could plan everything to perfection. The good thing is when it mattered, she didn't hesitate to complete the job." On cloud nine after winning the silver at Rio, Sindhu said: It has been a dream for me to win a Olympic medal. Each tournament has been different. Olympics is very big. I am thankful to my parents.
"Gopi sir was always motivating. May be he seemed angry to others but for me it was his motivation that helped me. The last two months we really worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices and it paid off. We never thought about the medal.
It was one match at a time and I am happy to win the medal." Asked if India can win a gold at 2020 Tokyo, Gopichand said: "I know it is a tough job. There are strong athletes we will be competing against and our medal will make us a target but having said that we have age on our side. We have a bunch of players here who when I walked here were saying 2020 is for us. So hopefully we have a motivated group who will push each other and we will remain in contention in Tokyo." India won two medals and both of them were clinched by women -- Sindhu and wrestler Sakshi Malik (bronze) and Gopichand said: "Thanks to the girls for saving our Olympic campaign."
Despite fielding a contingent of 118, India could win only two medals but Gopichand said: "I think having more than 100 athletes in Olympics is a huge achievement and instead of being negative and pointing fingers we need to celebrate it."