Pullela Gopichand has come a long way. After producing two Olympic champions, he is now widely regarded in Indian sporting circles as the only man who can bring Olympic success to India. It comes as little surprise that Gopichand is already planning for the 2024 and 2028 editions of the Summer Games.
I caught up with Pullela Gopichand (PG) in a free-wheeling exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Premier Badminton League, and throughout this discussion Gopichand's intent and desire to leverage the momentum from PV Sindhu’s Rio performance was evident.
Gopichand is not looking back on past glory but moving resolutely forward towards future Olympic success for India. Excerpts from the discussion:
Q. How do you go about preparing for the Olympics? I remember how you moved to SAI Bangalore and led an ascetic life before the Sydney Olympics. And then came the Olympic medals for Saina and Sindhu. What do you think has been the key to developing Olympic champions?
PG: Well it’s everybody's aspiration and everybody's goal to be a champion at the highest level. Some are able to achieve and some do not. As a coach too, the same desire is there. It’s nothing different when I was a player; it was a dream. Thanks to God I have been able to achieve whatever I could as a player. And whatever I could not achieve as a player I have been able to achieve as a coach. I think it has been quite nice.
I think when I see player, I somehow feel that I can see potential which probably the kids do not see at an early stage. And when you walk along with them on that path, a lot of things can be achieved.
It’s never easy. All that I have been able to achieve till now, it has been due to God’s grace. A lot of effort. But effort a lot of people put; I have been lucky to get a very good set of students too. Also, the ecosystem and the support that I have received from a lot of quarters have been very good, that is why we have been able to achieve good results.
Q. What is your plan going forward?
PG: From my perspective, it is very important that we move away from being person-dependent. We need to get to a place where we are system-driven and person-independent. Produce more coaches, because that is the key to producing great players.
I believe Indians have a lot of inherent talent in badminton, and somehow if we are able to nurture the sport properly and the players properly through good coaching and good systems, we will be able to produce a lot of players in the years to come.
Q. So are you working on a pipeline of coaches?
PG: Yes, and I think the Government recognises that and the BAI has been helpful and also recognises it. Also together with NGOs and sponsors, we are looking at broad-basing the existing system. Also, the plan is to get former players that are interested in the sport to come back to coaching, and I think that’s where the biggest success would come.
Q. You are talking of broad-basing, but you would actually need to spend as much time with the next generation.
PG: Probably more. I think I am at a unique place. I have always felt so. Even when I started coaching I felt that, if not me who will do it?
I believe today, because of the kind of respect I get, I can really push and make it happen and hopefully, we will make it happen. It needs a lot of support. It needs lot of people to come around but I see the possibility of India as a nation doing very well at sports.
Q. So how will you manage your own coaching as well as putting together a programme for other coaches?
PG: We are trying to reach a stage where I can free myself from the morning-to-evening routine. We are trying to get foreign coaches so that I can oversee the program and spend a few hours with coaches, and also a few more hours in updating myself. I am looking to get a structure in place.
This is the year to do it because the next year will be the CWG and before you realise it the Olympics is on. I think this is the critical year. We will have to build on our plans for 2024 and 2028.
Q. How difficult is it for you to build and sustain passion that stays with you through tough days, and can be sustained over months and months of effort?
PG: I think to me it means consistent hard work. Luckily I have my parental support, my wife and my kids. I think everybody supports me and that's what helps me.
Without that support, to spend that many hours in a day, and so many days in a month outside, travelling – all that would have been extremely difficult. But I enjoy a lot of support at home. My wife and my parents make my life easier.
Q. How involved do you get for your players? I could see Gopichand the player that day when I met you last, when Srikanth won the Indian Open.
PG: Yes I am like a player that way and want a WIN as much as my players want it. It is not about small or young. I keep track of all my players who play at my academy, and what they do every day.
If they win I take it personally, if they lose I take it personally. It is emotionally a drain, but it stays with me all the time.
Q. How does a tournament like PBL impact your preparations? How do you channelize the players’ energy after they return from the PBL?
PG: I think this is the new age. I think it is important for us as coaches to also understand that this is the way it is going to be moving forward as well. I think we need to embrace it. I travel and watch all the matches. Players also come back, and we have discussions and validate what they have learnt.
They are travelling so much. So inherently they have to manage themselves. Motivation and discipline have to come from the players themselves. It is good that when they interact with top notch players they realise that top notch players have reached there because of certain qualities that they have.
Q. How has Sindhu's medal impacted your players?
PG: Very good, and overall for badminton it was very good. They all realise that with preparation they can make a difference.
Q. What do you think of Srikanth? I thought he was very close and it was just a few points in the 3rd game in the QF. How do you see him progressing in the future?
PG: Srikanth is inherently very good and with experience, he will get better. He will definitely get better. Will take time but he will definitely get better.
Q. I read about how Prannoy was inspired by your pep talk when you mentioned that in an 8-9 year career there will always be a year of injury. How do you help players manage the injury period?
PG: I only say that there is a lot that is possible. There is light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope after injury. And this I have learnt from my own experience in the sport.
Q. How do you help players evolve their thinking as they progress in their career?
PG: Evolution as a player is an important thing. World badminton changes, opponents change, conditions change and the formats change, and it is important that we keep abreast. It is important that we evolve ahead of the competition.
You need to be sharp, thinking-wise. You need to be sharp preparation-wise and you need to anticipate what the opponent is planning. That’s what makes a good player.
Some of your strengths may be a weakness for you against certain opponents. So you may need to change your game instinctively against a player to neutralise their game. There are things you may have to do that are not in your comfort zone. You need to be able to instinctively change your game to adjust to the match situation.
Q. Can you share an example of how you got a player to play out of his/her comfort zone?
PG: Sindhu would never play a certain shot, and then we practised that shot for hours together every day. And then in a close match in the Olympics, at 15-15 in the third game, she hits that shot. And then in the early stage of her semi-final match, she hits that shot again and the opponents are left wondering where she got that shot from. Some of those moments were critical to the result.
Q. So in a way, it helped that Sindhu was injured prior to the Olympics?
PG: Yes, in a way it did. They (her opponents) did not prepare for her.
Q. How difficult was it to manage PV Sindhu’s injury? Since she's always so eager to get on to the court, was it tough to get her to rest, and nurse her through the recovery period?
PG: I think it was OK. From our perspective, I think Sindhu should be left alone in terms of learning. She is a hard worker. She will do what is required. We can put her through a strict regimen and she can take it. She will have her days.
Q. I briefly met PV Sindhu after her first World Championship bronze medal, and she was like a completely unaffected youngster who just enjoyed playing the sport. I still see that same spirit and good cheer in her. Is that your assessment of her too?
PG: That way she is very good. Somewhere it helped that those few months were managed very, very minutely. I know how tough it was. We really monitored the entire thing. Thanks to her parents we knew exactly what was happening – one of us was shadowing her throughout those three months, right up to 20th August. It was kind of a great preparation – she was fully into it. Probably for the kind of girl she is – she needed it.
Q. A win like Sindhu's establishes plenty of faith. How did you celebrate her achievement?
PG: I think I have been working every day since the Olympics. I have not had my holiday till now. It has been hard. I have been travelling and moving and every now and then things have come up. I am trying to restructure a few things and to get a few coaches and get a few structures in place.
Three months prior to the Olympics I did not do anything except prepare for the Olympics as well as become a sparring partner for my players. I was almost like a player myself. I was eating well and resting properly. I was a little paranoid that I should not be injured or fall sick. I was more careful than all of them!
Q. Did your knee hold up to the rigours of singles play?
PG: Yes it held up. I was able to play singles and was able to move around on the court.
Q. How did you fare in the practice matches?
PG: The court craft was there. But I am 43 now, maybe earlier... (laughs)
Q. What would be your advice for the development of young upcoming sports players?
PG: I think each champion goes through his/her own journey. I did not play the sport till I was 11. I played all kinds of sports in my village other than badminton.
A Saina comes up in a separate way and a Sindhu comes up in a separate way. So champions do not come in the same mould. An Indian champion comes in a different mould than, say, the mould you come in if you are a Marin.
There is no fixed finite path. The principles are important. It is important that you play multiple sports at a young age and adhere to the principles of long-term athletic development.
Q. Let’s take a specific example. What would you suggest for a youngster, say an upcoming 12 or 13-year-old?
PG: I think he/she should spend a lot of time on court craft. Learn the technical skill element. At this age, I think skill is a key component. Strength and endurance and stamina will improve with playing. There is also a window of speed that opens up at 13. He/she should do speed work and work a lot on their skill development.
Q. Do you have a plan for the development of young players at different ages?
PG: There is a curriculum for the development of youth in sports and we will try to establish this for badminton and all other sports very quickly.
