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Pullela Gopichand, India's chief badminton coach, opened up about what makes Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu stand out in the world of sports.
In an exclusive conversation with ANI, he reflected on their relentless drive, work ethic, and the impact they've had on Indian badminton. Speaking about Saina Nehwal's early days, Gopichand recalled, "Well, Saina was maybe about 13 years when I started coaching her. At that time, Indian women, they said, were not strong enough. Because at least in the men's side, we had me or Prakash sir or even Dinesh Khanna or Suresh Goel or people in the past who were actually achievers at the world level. But women, we didn't have the same highest level of women. So they would always say, our girls are not strong. That's the kind of language you would get to hear. We needed somebody who actually had the guts to actually go and break the glass ceiling, as they say. And that we needed somebody with a mindset like Saina. She was that kind who would be like go out there and just push and achieve kind of a thing. So once she did this, then I think everybody started to believe." Nehwal won bronze in the 2012 London Olympics. Her hunger for success, he noted, was unmatched. "Saina, especially in that initial years...was hungry. She would want more and more and we needed somebody with that attitude because even when she won her first satellite event or a challenger event, she would have been the best Indian woman ever but she wanted more and more and that's the reason I think hats off to her.," he noted. Speaking about two time Olympic medal winner PV Sindhu, Gopichand highlighted her incredible consistency and longevity in the sport. "I think Sindhu was one of the only ones. She was there from much younger as well. So she went out there. Both of them are physically very strong, great work ethic," he said. "Sindhu has been phenomenal because to have a career so long and to perform so well over time, I think both have been fantastic for India," he added. Sindhu won medals in the Olympics on two occasions, in 2016, she won the silver, and in 2020 Tokyo, she received a bronze. Beyond physical endurance, Gopichand emphasized the importance of mental strength in shaping champions. "I think one of the key factors is that you have to love what you're doing. That has to be a priority. When they lose, they have to be smart enough to forget it and believe that the next time, they're going to win. That mindset is very important and then trust, belief. For me, I think these components were very important as well. Because both of these girls had blind faith and that really helped. That is necessary. That is important as well. Because especially in strategy wise, you're telling some insane strategies and since you play here, she will play there and you go and tap it and that's like a lot of confidence you need to say that and a lot of belief of the athlete to actually trust you to do that," he emphasized. He acknowledged that he was fortunate to have players who placed that faith in him. "Luckily for me, God's grace, things delivered, so I could keep that trust going," he added. (ANI)
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