Title defence in Lucknow boosts Gayatri-Treesa's push back to world top 10
'PKL gave me everything'
Lakshya Sen overcame painful blisters and severe cramps to defeat Victor Lai and reach the All England Open final, bringing him closer to ending India's 25-year wait for the title.
'We actually have a big vacuum in terms of producing coaches of quality and it's not a training program. It's an ecosystem issue. So, we need to work harder to bridge that gap'
The former All England Badminton champion is set to take over as India's chief badminton coach for a four-year period.
India announces its badminton squads for the upcoming Thomas and Uber Cup championships, with Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu leading the men's and women's teams respectively.
Both romped into the second round in the US $10,000 Asian Satellite badminton championship.
India needs people like Rahul Dravid and Pullela Gopichand, who have done an excellent job in producing young talent in their respective disciplines, for tennis to develop in the country, says eight-time Grand Slam doubles champion Leander Paes.
The women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly bowed out of the All-England Badminton Championships, losing in the semi-finals, at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, on Saturday. Playing on court No. 6, the Indian duo lost to China's Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu 21-17, 21-16, in 51 minutes.
'Once you are out of the top 32, it becomes very tough to get back. Last year I couldn't really get entries into the 750 tournaments. To start this year with one is a positive step.'
'Badminton has best shot at medals in Tokyo and a letter was sent to IOA to this respect on Monday mentioning the six-member support team that also includes chief coach Gopichand's name along with the squad of four players.'
Lakshya Sen's title win, a World Championships medal from Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty offered hope amidst a difficult 2025 for Indian badminton.
Apple CEO Tim Cook enjoyed a game of badminton with Saina Nehwal, Chirag Shetty, Srikanth Kidambi and Parupalli Kashyap.
The 125-ranked Indian badminton ace, whose career has been dogged by injury, wants to reach the top 30-35 this year.
Sports in India has started moving in the right direction and the impact of the six medals the country won at the London Olympics will be huge, said national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand in Mumbai on Thursday.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty withdraw from the Badminton Asia Championships due to injury, leaving Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu to lead India's challenge.
The former All England badminton champion thrashed compatriot J B S Vidyadhar Rao in the men's singles final.
However, Chetan Anand and Abhinn Shyam Gupta made it to the second round in the Malaysian Open.
Pullela Gopichand expects Indian athletes to claim an unparalleled double digit medal haul at the Olympics
In the wake of India's biggest ever medal haul of six in its Olympic Games history at London, chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Thursday exuded confidence that the number would be bettered four years later in Rio de Janeiro.
The Indian ace was beaten by top seed Peter Gade of Denmark in the second round of the tournament.
Gopichand failed to offer much resistance, losing to seventh seeded Niels Christian Kaldau of Denmark in straight sets, in the second round.
Saina Nehwal's bronze medal win at the Olympics is the happiest moment of her career. For her coach Pullela Gopichand, however, it means the world.
Former all-England badminton champion Pullela Gopichand has been honoured with all major sports awards - the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya. His experience taught him a lot and today, he coaches badminton champ Saina Nehwal. Gopichand tells Urmila Rao of Careers 360, how his career took shape.
India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand believes the Tokyo Olympics should be postponed given the unprecedented crisis that the world is facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
'We women can do a lot of things.'
Describing Saina Nehwal as a 'phenomenal', her coach Pullela Gopichand today said if Saina had not won the Olympic medal, his life would have been incomplete.
The Birmingham showpiece will be held from July 28 to August 8.
The badminton ace would be playing in six international tournaments in the next two months.
The former Indian badminton ace upheld the BAI's decision to make it mandatory for players to participate in the ongoing national camp.
National coach Pullela Gopichand refused to comment on the controversy over Prajakta Sawant who had accused him of "mental harassment" in her petition to the Bombay High Court which has allowed the shuttler to attend the ongoing training camp at his badminton academy in Hyderabad.
The Indian badminton ace is working to a schedule in preparation for the international season ahead.
Saina Nehwal has once again resumed her partnership with long-time mentor and former coach Pullela Gopichand and would be starting her training at his academy in Hyderabad after recovering from a thigh strain.
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand remained tightlipped about his split with Saina Nehwal, saying he doesn't want to talk about the issue as the Asian Games is just round the corner.
National coach Pullela Gopichand, on Saturday, said that the loss of form of ace shuttler Saina Nehwal, whose campaign in the Japan Open Super Series ended in semi-finals, was not a cause of concern.
India's top shuttlers have missed his court-side presence this year but national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand says he can't really help cutting down on travelling as that would come in the way of finding the next crop of world-beaters.
A gold medallist at the 37th National Games, Mannepalli was trailing 4-7 in the first game before rallying to 12-9. He then took control and scored six straight points from 15-11 to seal the game.
In an interview with PTI, the Hyderabadi also reveals why she parted ways with the former All England champion and throws light on the Padma controversy.
BAI has confirmed the services of Tan Kim, who will be joining the Indian team by the end of September to work with the top doubles players.
Top shuttler P V Sindhu has recovered to be fit for the singles event of the ongoing Commonwealth Games, national coach Pullela Gopichand said.
