Gopichand, Pullela

Pullela Gopichand, (born November 16, 1973, Nagandla, India), Indian badminton player who in 2001 became the second Indian to win the prestigious All England men’s singles badminton championship.

Gopichand’s family moved to Hyderabad when he was a young boy. He did not start playing badminton until age 11, and he then played recreationally, not competitively. Gradually Gopichand began participating in local competitions, and in 1991 he was selected for his state’s junior badminton team. He won the junior national championship at age 18 and the men’s national championship three years later.

As Gopichand began to ascend the Indian badminton rankings, he moved to Bangalore (Bengaluru), where he trained at the badminton academy run by famed Indian player Prakash Padukone. A series of knee injuries in the mid-1990s threatened to end Gopichand’s career, but a successful arthroscopic procedure and determined rehabilitation on his part put him back on track, and he was able to play professionally in Germany from 1997 to 1999.

Gopichand carried Indian badminton to great heights at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, where he won an individual bronze and helped the national side win the silver medal. In 2000 Gopichand helped India reach the finals of the Thomas Cup. The crowning achievement of Gopichand’s career came in March 2001 with his All England badminton championship win. He defeated China’s Chen Hong 15–12 and 15–6 in the final match, which lasted just 44 minutes. In so doing, Gopichand joined his mentor Padukone as the only Indians to win the most prestigious individual badminton event. The most impressive aspect of Gopichand’s triumph was that he did not drop a single game throughout the tournament, winning each of his matches in a dominant fashion.

In 2006 the Badminton Association of India named Gopichand the coach of the Indian national badminton team, and in 2008 he opened a badminton academy in Hyderabad.