Chief Coach of Indian Badminton Pullela Gopichand on Friday expressed his pleasure at the recent success of two young male shuttlers - B Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth. Gopichand was speaking on the sidelines of Badminton Conclave organized by Badminton Association of India.
"I feel proud that two Indians have made it into the Finals of a super series," said Gopichand.
"Such thing rarely happens that two players from same country make it to a Final, except China, of course. We must celebrate such achievement along with the fact that we also have a player (Ajay Jayaram) in Top 15 of men's world ranking," he added.
Despite the success, the chief coach felt that the efforts of his fellow coaches are not recognised, and there is a need for a coach-led system which suits a diverse country like India. "The efforts of the coaches are not highlighted. None of the coaches who attend camps are paid well, there is not enough motivation among the support staff. We need to recognise the people who work behind the players," Gopichand explained in detail his idea of a system that would produce even better results.
"World produces results when it is system-driven, coach-led and athlete-centric. Right now, we are all working in silos. That's where we need to improve. We need to look at this problem and improve the system in a way that is suited to a vast and diverse country like India," he explained.
The event also saw distribution of Rs 1.6 crore worth of prize money among players like Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and more which players won through various tournaments since Commonwealth Games 2014.
Another star present at the conclave was Jwala Gutta. She however wants a drastic change in the attitude of the authorities towards doubles badminton. "If you look at the kind of support singles players get, compared to it, doubles players get nothing. look at the example of Sindhu, she received support from various quarters for seven years before she won an Olympic medal. We don't get that kind of support, not even words of encouragement," she explained.
On being asked whether she brought her grievances to the notice of the new BAI president, she replied in the affirmative. "Of course I did. I said the attitude towards doubles is pathetic and needs to change. People have never taken care of the doubles. That has to change. Doubles badminton is different from singles. It's high time both are not seen as the same. The president agreed with me that doubles needs more attention and I am confident he will make a difference," she said.
The newly-appointed president Himanta Biswa Sarma also shared his view on the goals BAI wants to achieve under his regime. A gold in Olympics seem to be the main priority. "BAI fraternity is looking for an Olympic gold, so we have prepared a roadmap taking into consideration all the views of top players, coaches and also taking the game to grassroot," he said at a conclave organised by the BAI.