P. Gopi Chand expressed his views on the way forward for Indian badminton, saying that the next couple of steps would be difficult as the game had progressed so much already.
Addressing the Badminton Conclave here on Friday, Gopi Chand said a system-driven, coach- and athlete-centric scenario would be the ideal way to progress. “Our systems need to be integrated. We (the players and the coaches) are not in control of the government mechanism,” he said. “We have to sit together and [trade] suggestions.”
After Saina Nehwal’s bronze at London and P.V. Sindhu’s silver at Rio, Gopi Chand said the next target for Indian shuttlers would be a gold. “It is not going to be easy,” Gopi Chand said.
The National badminton coach also acknowledged the efforts of P. Kashyap and K. Srikanth in reaching the quarterfinals at the last two Olympics, and added that a better result at Tokyo would mean two more badminton medals for India.
Gopi Chand faulted the national ranking system for not taking into account performances in the international arena.
He also pointed to age fraud as a big issue, and said coaches and support staff were not being paid well enough.
Gopi Chand, Vimal Kumar and Gujarat Badminton Association’s S.A. Raval, were presented awards for their services, on behalf of the Badminton World Federation.
