“In this system, players from across the nation get to play against each other. Countries like Denmark, Malaysia have such system.”
MUMBAI: Chants of “Hip, hip, hurray” resonated in the badminton courts of the Mumbai University sports pavilion after Delhi University beat the hosts in the semifinals of the men’s team event of the All India Inter-University Badminton Championships. Across the court, a smile said it all.
“I have come specially for the finals and the talent here is good,” said national coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand. “But I was expecting more crowd,” he added, his eyes scanning the arena.
It has been five months since Gopi, who turns 33 later this month, took over as the national coach and signs of change have already begun to show — centralised coaching for example.
Though a couple of players had expressed reservations on being a part of the project, Gopi prefers to set aside those teething problems.
“We had devised a programme under which 32 players would be selected and trained. A couple of them, (Chetan) Anand, Jwala (Gutta) and Priti (Murgunde), said they would not like to be a part of it and it was fine by us. Both Anand and Jwala participated in the World Championships and will participate in the Asiad too,” he clarified.
So, is centralised coaching better than private coaching, which most players have been used to in the past? “Most players have been training under the old system or rather there has been no system in place till now. As we all know, the results have been anything but impressive,” he said.
“If one looks at it, a doubles team is never made out of players from the same city. And if it is, the level of the game is never high because they hardly practice with players from outside the city. In centralised coaching, players from across the nation get to play against each other. Countries like Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia have centralised coaching systems,” he explained.
Gopi is also very optimistic about Indians’ performance. “Today (Friday), our team have beaten Germany in the World Juniors and I expect them to finish between 5-8 position,” he said.
And what about his protege, Saina Nehwal? “We must understand that she is only 17 and that she is still learning. She won the Philippines Open, which may just be a four-star tournament but nonetheless it is a great achievement. She has to grow physically and mentally and has to improve her fitness levels,” he said.
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