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What’s the story?
Star Indian badminton coach Pullela Gopichand is all set to emerge from the sidelines and take up the racquet himself, at the NSCI Dome, in Mumbai, where the Legends Vision Yonex World Tour is set to get underway next month.
Joining Gopichand in the event will be his fellow Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone. While the two badminton legends are set to share the stage together, they will be joined by other legends of the game from around the world, like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, Peter Gade, Taufik Hidayat, Lee Yong Dae.
In case you didn’t know…
Both Prakash Padukone and Pulella Gopichand are legends in the game in India. Padukone became the first Indian shuttler to win the All England Championship in 1980. Meanwhile Gopichand went on to win the same tournament in 2001.
Both the former shuttlers have also gone on to open their own badminton academies, helping many young Indian shuttlers excel in international tournaments. Gopichand, especially, has produced a number of top talents from his academy, with the likes of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth going on to win major titles in their respective categories.
Heart of the matter
The legends tour is an event that has been put together to increase the interest in the sport across the world. With international stars like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, and Peter Gade making an appearance at the event, it has the potential to draw large crowds, as they are pitted against some of the biggest stars from Indian badminton.
Although Prakash Padukone is not going to play in the tour, his Hyderabad counterpart Gopichand will take up the racquet against the international stars, Sportskeeda can confirm.
What’s next?
The badminton season is coming to a close with just a few more months to go, and this could be a good time to rope in some of the big stars from around the world, to play an exhibition tour. This tour will take place during a gap between the Superseries tournaments, which means that current Indian badminton stars like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth are also set to be present during the event.
Once the tour is over, however, the shuttlers will be all set to fly off to China to play in the China Open, followed by the Hong Kong Open.
Author’s take:
Indian badminton has come a long way since the early days, and the hard work of people like Gopichand and Padukone with the young and upcoming players of the country, has given India a lot of top shuttlers. With the likes of Kidambi Srikanth in men’s singles, and Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu in the women’s singles challenging for the top titles in their respective categories, the international badminton calendar does for good reading for the Indian badminton fans.
