Champs Of The Soil: What Makes Hyderabad The Nursery Of Indian Badminton

Lakshya Sen, who recently won the Canada Open, is an Almora and Bangalore product. But he바카라�s an exception. For most of the players, the road to shuttling excellence passes through Hyderabad.

Is it the air, the water, the biryani?

It바카라�s Gopichand. And SM Arif and Bhaskar Babu. And other dedicated coaches like them.

It바카라�s the infrastructure. Hundreds of courts and state of the art academies with gyms, pools and nutrition experts.

But mainly, it바카라�s Gopichand.

바카라�There is only one man. There is only one temple. That바카라�s Gopi Sir [and his academies],바카라� says Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who hails from Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, and whose partnership with Chirag Shetty has fetched numerous successes, most recently the Super 1000 Indonesia Open. 바카라�There's a lot of positivity here and a lot of facilities. Everyone feels settled, even the players from outside.바카라�

Gopichand, the 2001 All-England champion, and his wife PVV Lakshmi are originally from Andhra. Prior to their marriage, both were top players on the circuit, and became national champions. Then Gopichand won the All England and reached a pinnacle which only Prakash Padukone had attained before.

Even though Gopichand made it to the highest echelons, he had always felt the shortage of quality coaching and infrastructure in India. Post career, he focused on filling that gap.

바카라�If you look at pre 1994-95, Andhra did not even have a national champion. We바카라�d probably be the third and fourth team just in the south zone,바카라� Gopichand tells 바카라�Outlook바카라�, tracing the emergence of Hyderabad as the nursery of Indian badminton. 바카라�So it바카라�s not like we have a history [of producing players].바카라�

He then talks about the factors that brought about a transformation.

바카라�I think [it started] somewhere in the 90s바카라� Arif Sir was coaching, then Lakshmi became the national champion, and then I became the national champion. Later, I started coaching a bunch of young kids in Gachibowli in 2004. And as time went by, we had players like Saina, Prannoy, Srikanth (Kidambi), Satwik (Rankireddy), Chirag (Shetty), Praneeth (Sai), P Kashyap, and then some more. These players have produced some great results. And looking at them players from outside started joining. So it바카라�s a combination of results, infrastructure and the culture at the academy [that has made Hyderabad the capital of Indian badminton].바카라�

The self-effacing Gopichand skipped mentioning his All England win in his analysis. But it was the main reason he got the land and the Rs 13 crore he needed for an academy. In 2003, the Andhra government allotted him five acres of land for the project. But it wasn바카라�t easy to get the required cash. Early requests for sponsorship went unheeded. Fed up of asking people for help, but determined to pursue his goal, Gopichand and his family mortgaged their house for a bank loan of Rs 3 crore. Then the industrialist Nimmagada Prasad contributed Rs 5 crore, on the condition that the academy produces an Olympic medallist. The remainder of the amount fell in place through other donations.

The rest is history. At the 2012 London Olympics, just four years after the academy officially started, Nehwal won the bronze. At the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, Sindhu won silver and bronze, respectively. Over the years, Indian players won several other honours in women바카라�s and men바카라�s badminton. Today Gopichand, who is also the chief national coach, presides over three centres in Hyderabad and 23 courts in total. His latest academy was opened this April in collaboration with Kotak Mahindra Bank.

바카라�Today the need is to produce not just more players, but also more coaches,바카라� Gopichand says. 바카라�That became a challenge as I was quite busy with a lot of things and couldn바카라�t travel for all the tournaments, and we needed more coaches to be in the ecosystem. That바카라�s the reason we opened our third academy.바카라�

Bhaskar Babu is another respected coach from the Andhra-Telangana region. He feels it is the dedication and non-mercenary nature of coaches that has made the state the capital of Indian badminton.

바카라�We have very good facilities here, there are so many academies. But most importantly people are committed. The players, their parents as well as their coaches are sincere. And coaches don바카라�t look at their job as a means to make money,바카라� says Bhaskar Babu, the sound of shuttles being hit audible on the phone. He is 65, but is at the courts of the BBBA (Bhaskar Babu Badminton Academy) in Dundigal, Telangana, at 5.30 most mornings. This commitment is reflective of most coaches in and around Hyderabad.

Chirag Shetty appreciates the role Hyderabad has played in the growth of Indian badminton. Shetty, who is from Mumbai but trains in Hyderabad, says, 바카라�Just the number of academies and courts that are there in Hyderabad 바카라� only Bangalore comes close. And it has really boomed in the last few years. The sport is huge in Hyderabad. And I think that's one of the reasons why so many people want to come here.바카라�

Rupesh Somani, whose children Pranit and Navika are students of Bhaskar Babu, has seen what Hyderabad has to offer first hand.

바카라�There are so many academies and courts in Hyderabad. It바카라�s almost like football in Argentina or Brazil, where every single corner has a ground. Or Indonesia or Malaysia, where you will see badminton courts everywhere,바카라� Somani says. 바카라�It바카라�s simple. If there are courts, people will play, and then if they like the sport they will stick with it.바카라�

For many years, Gopichand바카라�s day would start at around 4 every morning, as he바카라�d prepare to head to the courts of his academy. A clean-living man, he would never have sugar. Now his day starts at six and he allows himself a little sweet. 바카라�I바카라�m much more liberal with myself,바카라� he says. He바카라�s earned it. And so have the other coaches and players who have helped make Hyderabad and its surrounding parts fertile badminton ground.