More benches in Gopi’s class

The five-acre land in the middle of desolate and deserted Gachibowli is their home,prison,school,playground and lives for most of the year. They are clay moulds in the hands of Gopichand,who in the prequel to this current challenge had guided Indian badminton’s brightest star Nehwal to a step away from the pinnacle of rankings. With Nehwal opting to seek personalised attention and training under Bhaskar Babu,Gopichand has now trained his eye on the next batch,without missing a beat.

Army of Nehwals

It’s a mission that puts his past laurels — synonymous with Nehwal’s rise as a star — firmly locked in the trophy shelves. They provide inspiration to emulate that successful journey now with the new crop of juniors,but at the same time re-orienting his focus to a task that is both multipronged and challenging,since Nehwal’s much-celebrated determination and bull-headedness will remain the rarest of raw materials. Still,the academy air — even as Nehwal goes about doing her own thing in the furthest corner net each day — is thick with renewed determination even as youngsters such as Prannoy,Praneeth,Dutt,Saurabh Verma,Arundhati Pantawane and PV Sindhu look to pick up the mantle.

“My aim is to have a bunch of juniors who can challenge the elite players of the world,” Gopichand says,adding,“If there is one player out of that bunch who can achieve what Saina has achieved,it will be great. But that will only be one big step towards my ultimate goal.” Gopichand certainly believes in their abilities,but insists that India is destined for a bigger future in badminton — bigger than remaining a one-hit wonder.

“This no doubt is going to be a difficult task,but it is highly achievable with the current bunch of players. I am a firm believer that India has a place among the top countries of the world in the sport. In order to compete against China and other top countries,we must have a number of top level players challenging their compatriots across many events,” Gopi says.

Supervising careers

Gopichand certainly believes in their abilities. With the responsibility of training Nehwal off his shoulders,Gopi is now fully focussed on the juniors,and he feels that each of them have what it takes to make it into the world’s top 30 within the coming year. “I’m very confident about it. They just need the right kind of guidance. They are showing a lot of commitment on court and are responding well to my advice,” he says,even as he aims at bettering his coaching peak of having six Indians in the men’s top 60 category two years ago,and also the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju in the top 10. As head coach at the academy,though,Gopichand is keen on supervising careers from the point of take off and onwards. And the results are there to be seen.

At the recently concluded Indian Open Super Series in Delhi,where the likes of Nehwal and P Kashyap faltered early,the juniors took centre-stage. Verma,all of 20,came out of metaphorical obscurity (he is actually from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh) to beat an Athens Olympics bronze medalist and then a top 10 Japanese to reach the quarterfinals. Dutt too pulled off a sensational upset against world number five Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand. At the same time,Praneeth,Prannoy,Sindhu and Pantawane made the main draw of a Super Series event for the first time. “I now have the self belief to beat the best in the business. That’s the best thing I took out of the experience,” Verma said of his exploits in Delhi.

Mission London

The talented bunch are not one to rest on these nascent achievements. They are,in fact,using this welcome confidence to train harder,especially with the Olympics on the horizon. Six-day training sessions,eight hours-a-day,with a half-day on Saturday is their recipe for success. To break the monotony,the players device new programs,such as betting small money,or organising mock tournaments on a daily basis. This makes the plucky youngsters look forward to each day with renewed enthusiasm — Olympic success being the greatest of motivators. “Every player dreams of winning at the Olympics. Pushing the limits of our mental and physical exhaustion little by little,everyday,will take us there,” Dutt says earnestly.

Gopichand does admit that the challenge of guiding a group of juniors is entirely different from his previous one,that of training the exceptionally gifted Nehwal. The aforementioned tournaments and practice matches,however,help the national coach analyse their games thoroughly,and he feels that he is more than up to the task. “The job is definitely different now. My focus is not only on one player,” he says. “These youngsters have been with me for a long time and I have been paying close attention. And in the last two and a half months,I have really been able to analyse them.”

Gachibowli boot-camp

Life at the Gachibowli academy is nothing short of a boot-camp — located alongside the eight-lane Outer Ring Road,on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Flanked by an inviting lawn on either side,flights of concrete stairs lead up to courtside. The approach is adorned by inspirational posters of a young Gopi in his finest hour (celebrating his All England victory),Nehwal (in various attacking poses),and World No 1 Lee Chong Wei. Equipped with a gymnasium and swimming pool,a wooden door opens to eight green synthetic courts,where players spend most of their time training.

To the left of the courts,a sign board specifies that the seats are only for families of the trainees. The parents have a view of the softboard,one that prominently displays the results. Seniors practice in the morning and the evening,while the pre-teens are permanently allotted the afternoon session. After finishing their practice,players walk up to their rooms,two floors above the courts,and take a balcony view of their compatriots roughing it out. It’s not uncommon to wake up to the sound of a whipping shuttle,or to go to bed dreaming of the racquet’s arc. The coach follows up on his unflinching faith that the Chinese can be conquered by simply following their regimented footsteps of training. Gopi reiterates that the competition is unforgiving and demands equally unforgiving preparation.

After the eight hours of strokeplay,gym-work and physical fitness,most players are thoroughly exhausted. Some lie flat next to their kit bags,others gulp down a bottle of water,and Saturday cricket on the green patch seems like a walk in the park. Sindhu,however,extends her session of practice by playing an 11-point game with one of the coaches. While most would assume that this extra effort is towards becoming the next Saina,she refuses. “I want to be the first ‘Sindhu’,” she says.

Over the hill,far away

The old tends to fade out,making way for the new. Prominent on India’s badminton-scape over the last decade,these shuttlers were at the forefront of the good tidings for the sport alongside Saina Nehwal. Even as a new wave of juniors seeks to pervade popular imagination with results internationally,the seniors claim they are not done yet. On the last lap of their careers — and increasingly challenged by the junior — Sportsline takes stock of some of the top headline-hunters of the past few years:

Chetan Anand
Currently ranked 90

Still recovering from ankle and knee injuries,the former World No 13 started training just three weeks ago. “I’m first concentrating on getting back to full fitness. I will play the Maldives Open and see how my ankle is doing. Then I’ve planned to play tournaments in the US and Canada,” said the 30-year-old. Provided his body holds up,he would want to play for another 3-4 years.

Aravind Bhat
Currently ranked 54

Aravind Bhat,31,plans to play for another three years,but the 2012 Olympics is a definite target for him. “I will decide which tournaments to play on the basis of my fitness. I am currently readying for the Sudirman Cup. The preparation has been quite good. I picked up a niggle in my knee during practice. I am hoping that will not be too major,” said the former World No 20 (2009).

V Diju
Currently ranked 33

One part of India’s prime mixed doubles pair ranked within the Top 10 (career high No 6),V Diju is currently out with a back injury. “I’ll play the World Championships next in August,” he said. The 30-year-old wants to play for another three years and then get into coaching. “Although I have a full-time job,I want to stay connected with badminton,” said the former Super Series Masters finalist from 2009.

Anup Sridhar
Currently ranked 112

Former World No 24,Anup Sridhar,now 28,would still like to be playing competitive badminton five years from now,but if he doesn’t have that option he would want to study Law. Ranked outside of 100 in the world,the shuttler wants to take things one game at a time. “My first focus will be fitness and second to get my ranking up. I am not thinking too far ahead,” he said.

Trupti Murgunde
Currently ranked 134

Former national champion,Trupti Murgunde’s first step towards making the grade for the Olympics is to keep fit. “I’ve been injured a lot. I have to stay fit and everything else will follow.” While she wants to play for as long as she can,Murgunde says she would want to get into fashion designing once her court career is over.

Rupesh Kumar/ Sanave Thomas
Currently ranked 43

India’s doubles pairing of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas have a hectic tournament schedule. “After the Sudirman Cup,we will take part in the Thailand and the Singapore Opens,plus a lot of tournaments after that,” said Rupesh. The duo plan to retire in 2014.

Under the master coach’s wings
PV Sindhu,15

WHile 15-year-old Sindhu’s smashes and her attacking play resonates from five years ago when a certain Saina Nehwal — with her aggressive intent — started stomping the rankings ladder,there is general consensus that she needs to improve her fitness. Her height,according to Gopichand,can be an advantage as well as a disadvantage. “She needs to improve her strength,especially in her legs. Her height helps her reach but also restricts her quickness on court. She has age on her side,and her weaknesses can easily be improved with practice,” Gopi says.

Sai Praneeth,19

Soft-spoken Sai Praneeth transforms into a hard-hitting aggressor on court. He is a tricky stroke player and is good at disguising his shots. But although his court game is bound to taste plenty of success in the future,Gopi observes that in order to achieve his destiny,Praneeth needs to work on his mental and physical fitness. “We are working on his physical power,mental strength,his quickness on court and his defensive game,” says Gopichand. At the recently concluded Indian Open,Praneeth managed to step it up,making it into the main round of the tournament in Delhi.

Saurabh Verma,20

Saurabh Verma is one of the few non-Hyderabadi players in the Pullela Gopichand Academy. The 20-year old from Dhar,Madhya Pradesh,goes home for only a week or two each year. He joined the academy in 2008 as part of the CWG camp and managed to top the domestic rankings. Known for his patient game and his passion on court,Verma set alight the Indian Open with his giant-killing exploits. “The boy has a lot of heart. He is very strong mentally and his court-coverage is good. He just needs to focus on and improve his attack,” says Gopichand.

Guru Sai Dutt,21

Guru Sai Dutt,who belonged to Gopi’s first batch of wards,may be in good form off-late,but he is still paying his dues for a bad 2010,a year when he dropped his world ranking from 37 to 56 to injuries and illness. It was a major hurdle to his progress — but even a sniffy allergy is not lost on the coach’s detailed notes. “He has a bad dust allergy which snowballs into a cold and a bad fever leaving him devoid of energy. He needs to get this in control. Otherwise he needs to put on some mass and increase his physical strength without losing his pace,” says Gopichand.