The going gets great for Gopichand

India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has taken his passion for the sport, especially coaching, to a new level. With the existing Gopichand Badminton Academy – rated one of the best in Asia – the Dronacharya Award winner is delighted that his second coaching academy near Gachibowli flyover is nearing completion, and should be fully operational by October-end.

This has nine courts compared to eight in the existing academy. “I am pleased with the pace of work and this academy should ease the pressure a lot on the coaches in terms of space and time allotment for the 120-odd players, most of whom have already made a mark at the national level in different categories,” says Mr. Gopichand.

“The wooden flooring has commenced. I have ensured that once completed this academy will also match the best in the world. The advantage of running an academy for the last decade or so has definitely helped me in taking corrective measures to cater to the aspirations of the players,” explains the former All England Open Badminton champion.

The Government of India and the Sports Authority of India have extended support to his second venture. Mr. Gopichand said the academy will be built on one acre land given on lease by the Telangana government – of the five acres he got for setting up the academy – and the focus will be on specialised coaching for doubles, juniors and seniors.

“The idea is to ensure players of all age groups make optimum use of the facility as the training sessions will be swapped between the two venues to eliminate the chances of boredom of fine-tuning skills at only one venue,” says the coach, who has ushered in a revolution of sort in terms of pushing Hyderabad as the badminton capital of India.

The second facility has eight rooms for players on the first floor, four on the ground floor catering to coaches and officials, and provision for a full-fledged gym. A VIP suite will also be at hand to take care of foreign coaches who will be a regular, says Mr. Gopichand in the company of his mother Subbaravamma, who is personally supervising the works, just as she had done with the first academy.

“There is no better joy than seeing these players perform at the highest level. We want to provide the best of facilities which I lacked as a player in my formative years,” Mr. Gopichand said.

His second coaching academy near Gachibowli flyover is nearing completion and will be fully operational by October-end