Gopichand in a fix over Asiad entry
Nagraj Gollapudi
Pulella Gopichand is furious. He is all dressed up but nowhere to go.
One half of the two-member Busan Asian Games badminton team [the other, Aparna Popat opted out] cleared
by the government, he is still in doubt about the Centre's clearance.
"I don't know what is the problem. The last time [at Bangkok] it was all smooth," he said on Friday, when asked why he is not already there in Busan.
No one knows wherein lies the problem, as the Badminton Federation of India's application -- to the government and Indian Olympic Association -- for Gopichand's clearance has, it appears, gone unnoticed.
Needless to say, the unaccounted delay is hurting the 2001 All-England
champion, both personally and game wise.
"There's a lot of uncertainty now and it is affecting mentally," said Gopichand.
However, he is not letting this latest controversy affect his future
prospects.
"I am going to concentrate on the Danish and Dutch Opens."
Currently ranked at 53 in the International Badminton Federation's world rankings, Gopichand feels he stands a fair chance of doing well at Busan.
"I have been playing well on the circuit for the last six months. Also the
change in the format to 15 point games is comfortable. With all this I can
see doing well."
Year 2002 has been a mixed one for the India No. 1. Although he has not
bagged any prestigious title, he has scored creditable wins considering his
below par performance post-All England.
At the 2002 All-England
Championships, in March, he failed to make it past the second round. Then at,
the Japan Open the next month, he came up with an impressive performance to
make the semi-finals, accounting for favourites like Hendrawan of Indonesia
and Chinese Lin Dan. In the last-four clash he went down to the eventual winner, Hyun Ii Lee of Korea, in straight games.
In his latest appearance in a major event, the Singapore Open, Gopichand could only make the third round although he again got the better of Lin Dan in the first round, thereby erasing bitter memories of the
2001 edition of the same event, where he lost to the Chinese youngster in his
first round match.
He knows that recurring injuries have been a constant irritant. "I need to
take care of them (injuries) in case I have to do well," he says. However for that to happen, he will need to be in good spirits as well.
Surely, this fresh imbroglio about his clearance for the Asian Games is
doing him, and the country, no good.
Also read
Gopichand's chances are good
