India’s chief national badminton
coach Pullela Gopichand
recently received an honorable mention in the male category of the 2019 International
Olympic Committee’s Coaches Lifetime Achievement
Award in recognition of his role in developing badminton in the country.
“To be recognized by the IOC is something really huge,” Gopichand told Outlook magazine.
The 46-year-old coach, who won the All England Open championship in 2001, founded the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad in 2008. He has helped develop top players such as Saina Nehwal,
P.V. Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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