Gopichand flays India media for neglecting badminton

Gopi’s rise to stardom has been meteoric. He agrees: “This could not have been possible but for the unstinted support of my parents and employers, Indian Oil Corporation. Way back in 1993, my father was posted at Delhi. He was there for four years residing alone and my mother stayed back just to take care of me.”

“Three months in a year, I proceed to Germany for training. This year I preferred not to go because of Grand Prix tournaments.” explained Gopi.

Sanjiv Sachdev, the National coach who went with the Indian team to the ABC, said: “I’ve seen him play right from my younger days and I’m marvelled by the way he has scaled the heights of professional badminton. What impressed me the most is the way he used dignity and restraint as weapons against opponents.”

Gopi was unhappy over the stepmotherly treatment given by the Indian media to badminton. “The Grand Prix tournaments are as good as the French Open or Australian Open in tennis. Why is badminton neglected. In countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and China the coverage was elaborate about my performance. Why not in India? It hurts and I’m not in a position to understand where the mistake lies,” he fumed.

He intends to relax in his hometown before getting back to serious business. The Korean Open will be the next major tournament in which he might participate. This will be followed by Grand Prix final at Brunei, the All England Open at Birmingham and the Swiss Open at Basel.

“I’m happy about my performance. My aim was to be within the first 10. Reaching here, I realise that getting to the top is possible and hope to be there in the near future.”