Time to consolidate on Gopi's success

Sanjay Sharma

Pullela Gopichand's stunning victory at the All England badminton championships is bound to become folklore, just like Prakash Padukone's path-breaking triumph at the same event in 1980, which heralded a new era for Indian badminton, or, for that matter, Leander Paes's bronze medal in the tennis event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

There can be many more parallels, though this All England was different from the one Padukone won by defeating Liem Swie King of Indonesia in the final. At that time, the All England was the only recognized world tournament. Today, the same championships is just one of the many major badminton events on the circuit. In fact, in terms of prize-money and points available for players on the circuit, the Korean Open, offering $250,000, the Malaysian Open, offering $180,000, and the Singapore Open, offering $170,000, are bigger than the fabled English tournament. However, none can match the glamour attached to the oldest badminton tournament in the world, like the Wimbledon tennis championships. That is why it is every shuttler's dream to win the All England crown.

Gopichand's triumph at Birmingham is indeed unique. The 27-year-old Indian champion was unfancied and had an outside chance of winning, while Prakash went into the tournament as the favourite. Besides, all the top players were present at Birmingham, from Olympic champion Ji Xinpeng of China to world No. 1 Peter Gade Christensen of Denamark. There was also 20-year-old baby faced 'killer' Taufique Hidayat, twice All-England runner-up, and 2000 champion Xia Xuenze of China. But all bowed to the sheer artistry and skill of Gopichand. To cap it all, the greatness of the Indian's triumph was in reigning without losing a single game.

From a world ranking of 45 just a year back, Gopichand's climb to No. 5, following the All England triumph, has been steady. Indications that he was capable of beating the best in the world came after three momentous tournaments in South East Asia late last year, when he reached the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open, where he defeated Ji Xinpeng [who later went on to become the Olympic champion]; the semi-finals of the senior Asian championships and Ipoh Masters, where he defeated the then world No. 1 Taufique Hidayat.

I had written then that Gopi will now have to concentrate on winning titles and not just playing in the title match. Now that he's got his first Grand Prix title, he'll have to sets his sights on taking the No.1 ranking, which he is quite capable of. After all, his game is as good as any of the leading international players. All he needs is a bit more speed and fitness added to it. The fitness angle was worked upon by his personal coach/trainer Prasad Ganguly at the SAI south centre, where Gopi has been living and training on and off for the past two years.

In Birmingham, Gopi was certainly was in good company. There was old warhorse Leroy D’Sa, as BAI's India coach, and Ganguly to guide him. Both these brains worked out strategy and tactics which Gopi followed religiously to bring about one of the greatest triumphs in Indian sport.

So, where does Gopi go from here? That is the million-dollar question everyone wants to know. Personally, I feel he is well set to dominate world badminton and be among the top three for the next two years. At least. He is 27, and though that may be considered oldish in badminton terms, we must not forget that Hoyer Larsen and Joko Supriyanto dominated singles well past the age of 30 --- and that was just a decade back. In fact, even Prakash Padukone played some of his best matches when he was almost 28-29.

Right now he should avoid too many felicitations that are bound to come in the way of his training. In fact, after a weeks' rest, he should get right back on the drawing board and start training harder than ever. From being the hunter, he will now be the prey.

Secondly, from now on, he must only play in select tournaments which can enhance his ranking.

As for the BAI, the time is ripe to capitalise on Gopi's exploits. It has the nucleus of a very strong team, both men's and ladies. It must keep in mind that if Gopichand could overcome all odds and become the world’s top shuttler, India too can strive to become a badminton power. All it requires is correct planning and foresight. It needs to groom its doubles combinations, work on the juniors and have more tournaments on the domestic circuit. If the BAI starts working today, India will surely be able to pose a strong challenge for the Thomas Cup next year. There is huge depth in singles, and it can only get better and better. In a year's time we can groom at least two good doubles combinations.

If Gopi could dream big and achieve his goal, surely Indian badminton can emulate him.

Sanjay Sharma is a former captain of India's Thomas Cup team.

For more on Gopichand, read:

A feather in the cap