‘Gopi sir' as he is fondly referred to by his wards, is the master strategist who utilised his limited resources to the fullest and made sure that hosts India won a medal at the ongoing Thomas and Uber Cup — a bronze medal by the women's team — which was their best-ever performance. Abhishek Purohit was among the mediapersons whom the Indian badminton head coach Pullela Gopichand spoke to after India's exit
How do you sum up India performance in the Uber CupIJ
It's been a good performance. Overall, there have been a lot of positives in the way the team played, the way they fought back. It's a tough tournament, where traditionally we have not done well. It's also an event that has not been on our radar.For some of us in the badminton circle, winning Thomas & Uber Cup is like a dream. But the tournament is virtually unknown for the general public and even for some professional players. It’s an addition that it was hosted by us and it was important to showcase our team and it has lived up to it.
During the semi-final match against Japan, the women's team lost to Japan despite being 2-0 upIJ Was it heartbreaking for youIJ
It's a sport. We can't say that this person did wrong and that person should have done better. I can say that I am proud of the way they fought. Beating Thailand and Indonesia has brought a lot of respect for India in the world of badminton.
How do you see the bronze medal finishIJ
We have Saina (Nehwal) , (PV) Sindhu, Jwala (Gutta)-Ashwini (Ponnappa) and with them, we beat top teams like Thailand, Indonesia with 3-0 margins.Add to that, we beat beat Hong Kong and to have beaten Japan with same result, would have been like a dream. We have won medals at Commonwealth Games level but beyond that, we have not done much.
The bronze provides a lot of credibility to the team with the Asian Games coming up. I can't say like we are a team but definitely we cannot be discounted our counted out.
What does the achievement mean to the playersIJ
I think it's a huge confidence booster for the players. They will take these memories back and get inspiration for the matches in the future. like Saina was down 7-15 but she fought back. Sindhu, playing those big rallies and the fact that she can win matches day after day with her fitness and game, is a big positive.
Did this win defy your expectationsIJ
Reaching quarters was our first target. As a team, we had to rely on four people and hope that they come out on top all the time. You don’t have much resources to fall back upon. Saina will beat Ratchanok (Intanon), Sindhu would get better of Porntip (Buranaprasertsuk) and Jwala-Ashwini beating the doubles pair, were all the cards we had and they were successful against Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Apart from this it was good to see all of them motivated to do well for the team.
Your thoughts on the men's team’s performanceIJ
We have K Srikant, P Kashyap, (RMV) Gurusaidutt and we rely heavily on the singles players and hope they come out on top each time. But it is not easy. Our reliance on the singles games was far too much. We won two against Korea and could have won another one. They gave their best.
What are the lessons you take as a coach from this tournamentIJ
It shows our efficiency, our weakness and the work we need to do. If we look at Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia, they have a bigger pool. We need to have a bigger contingent. If you need to be consistent you should have a good team.
How we can have a bigger contingentIJ
We don’t have much apart from two. We need to protect whatever talent we have. We need to add one more. We have not worked on the third singles player as much as we have on Saina and Sindhu. Good players don't come easily. We need to focus on others like PC Thulasi and other two juniors as well. We need to provide more funding, training, resources and exposure to others as well. More coaches should come. At the world level, to find good coaches is not easy.
What about Gopichand, the head coach of Indian teamIJ
Personally, I feel honoured. I keep reminding myself that I have got so much from the sport. I have had problems but I try to brushed them aside and say that there is a lot more that I should do for the country and that's my motivation.
Saina and Sindhu played as a pair this time. Will they be trained further as a pairIJ
They play doubles during training and they will continue to do it. Sindhu was trained in doubles after Asian Championships. Every week on Friday, we play doubles.
What is the reason for India's perennial problems of not having good doubles pair and what are the solutions for itIJ
We take too long to specialize. One basic thing is that once you are 16-years-old, the coach tells the player to take up singles or doubles. It's a tough decision. You need authority to develop doubles players. It's a decision where many people – the player, his/her coach, and employers —are involved in the decisions.
You can't develop a doubles player individually. You back a player and trust them irrespective of the early results. You go overboard and keep pushing them. Then the result comes. In doubles, many factors play a role like choosing a partner and motivating them. Currently, if you see the national singles champion also plays doubles at the age of 18. But when they become 20, he or she might see the game and say that I should move to singles.
Unless we have a system which is different from the present one, it would be difficult to have strong doubles players. A lot needs to be done to improve doubles because we don't have many kids taking doubles at the junior level.