The Southern Rising Summit: Pullela Gopichand, former Indian badminton player and current Chief National Coach of the Indian national badminton team, shared insights into the challenges and setbacks athletes endure on their journey to the Olympics, as well as the even greater struggles they face when they fall short of a podium finish at the world’s premier sports event, while speaking at ABP Network's The Southern Rising Summit in Hyderabad. Gopichand also shared his reaction to the disqualification of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat at the Olympics 2024 after she was found overweight for her weight category.
Gopichand, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award, became only the second shuttler from India after Prakash Padukone to win the All England Open Badminton Championships, which he clinched at Birmingham in 2001. Additionally, Gopichand also bagged a bronze medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in men's singles event and then bagged a silver in the same tournament in the men's team category. Now serving as the Chief National Coach of the India national badminton team, he also runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy.
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Speaking at ABP’s The Southern Rising Summit, Gopichand spoke about what it takes for an athlete to become a champion and potentially reach the Olympics in any sport that they participate in.
“Passion and obsession is what is needed. A rational mind can not get there as one has to believe in the unbelievable and see the impossible as possible. Plan B is not wanted as plan A is the only thing that can take you there.” Gopichand said.
Gopichand Reflects On Vinesh Phogat's Near Miss At Paris 2024
Gopichand also spoke about the athlete's disappointment when they fail to reach the pinnacle despite all the hard work, citing Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s example. Phogat, who had been poised to become India’s first-ever wrestling gold medalist at the Paris Olympics 2024, was deemed 100 grams overweight for her weight category on the morning of her 50 kg final which led to her disqualification from the Games.
Notably, Vinesh and her team made intense, last-minute efforts to meet the weight requirement, resorting to extreme weight-cutting methods, including blood extraction and hair cutting.
Watch Gopichand's interaction with ABP Ntework here:
"Sports above all is the one thing which teaches people about failures the best. The seeds of getting back up after a loss come from a very young age. Many sports persons are trained to deal with failure. They’re trained to believe that they are going to win but they are also trained to get up each time they fail which is a very important part of training. That keeps them steadfast when they face absolute disappointment,” Gopichand said.
“That is what Vinesh probably had to go through. You’d see boxers, wrestlers, weightlifters and others, in the Olympics cafeteria barely eating—maybe just 5 or 6 raisins. If they put me on a wrestler’s diet plan, I would probably lose 8 kgs of my weight. That’s how much they squeeze you.”
Gopichand Sheds Light On Extreme Weight Loss Procedures Athletes Go Through
Gopichand explained that athletes endure intense struggles for weight loss, emphasizing that Vinesh likely faced significant hardship to shed 300-400 grams, and losing an additional 100 grams may have been impossible due to the lack of body weight remaining.
“There is a lot of torture that a player has to go through for weightloss in such events and I am sure Vinesh had to go through hell to lose those 300-400 grams, and losing an additional 100 grams probably wasn’t possible—there must have been nothing left in her body to lose,” Gopichand explained.