India
Nazeer Adoni / GoBadminton

There is a need of coaches who can complement the sport's growth: Pullela Gopichand

By: Srishty Sharon
Date: 21 Sep, 2018
Image Courtesy: Nazeer Adoni / GoBadminton

The legendary player and Indian national badminton coach, Pullela Gopichand seemed concerned about the lack of qualified badminton coaches and trainers.

 

On Thursday, the former shuttler was present in Chandigarh during the inauguration ceremony of the very first edition of the Yonex Sunrise All-India Junior Badminton Ranking Tournament. Gopichand said, "We don't have quality coaches in India, which is quite detrimental for us in the international arena. Most importantly, we don't have a system in place that can produce world-class coaches. Building infrastructure is the easiest part of the entire structure; but to find committed and motivated people, who can work over a period of time for the greater good of the sport is the tough job," as quoted in TOI.

 

He also added that there is an urgent requirement of skilled and well-versed trainers and coaches in the nation. Gopichand said that the coaches should be capable enough to enhance the growth and potential of the sport.

 

"The bizarre thing about sports in India is that we don't have a proper roadmap. Our coaches are mediocre. We don't know to seem to nurture the coaches; we need to build a roadmap for Indian coaches," stated Gopichand.

 

Gopichand also spotlighted that the profession should be advantageous, breadwinning and rewarding to allure more people to the profession. He stated, "Unless you have great coaches, you cannot have great athletes coming in. At the moment, our challenge is that coaching is not looked at the way it should be looked at. The best minds don't get into coaching,"

 

He also outlined the performances and ablaze of the Indian players. Talking about shuttlers like HS Prannoy and Srikanth Kidambi, Gopichand expressed his distress. The top shuttlers failed to perform efficiently as they have played a number of tournaments in a year. Participation is good, but the shuttlers did not get enough time to work on their flaws.

 

Gopichand said, "We have a packed calendar this year. We had the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games, the World Championships and several other tournaments; due to which we don't have the time to work on the flaws that have crept into the game of Prannoy and Srikanth. It is difficult to improve their game in between a tournament,"

 

"You cannot expect the world federation to reduce the number of tournaments in a year, so the players have to be consistent and stay away from injuries," he added.


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