MUMBAI: Pullela Gopichand was honoured with the ‘Iconic Sports Leader of the Decade’ for his unmatched contribution in mentoring a generation of globally successful badminton stars at the 15th edition of CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards in Mumbai on Friday.
Gopichand, the current Indian national badminton coach, has won the Arjuna Award in 1999, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2001, Dronacharya in 2009 and Padma Bhushan in 2014.
Gopichand won his first National Badminton Championship title in 1996 and then won to clinch the title five years in a row. His first international title came at the Le Volant d’Or de Toulouse in 1999 and then in the same year, he also claimed the Scottish Open.
Gopichand’s career-highlight came at the 2001, when he won the All England Open, becoming only the second Indian to achieve the feat after Prakash Padukone, who did it in 1980.
Since retiring as a player, Gopichand took up the mantle to shape the future of badminton in the country, as he founded the Gopichand Badminton Academy in 2008.
He oversaw the rise of Olympic medal winners Saina Nehwal (who won the Bronze medal at London 2012) and PV Sindhu (who won the Silver medal at the Rio 2016). Sindhu also became the first Indian to win the BWF World Championships.
The likes of Srikanth Kidambi, Sai Praneeth and Parupalli Kashyap have also honed their skills under the guidance of Gopichand.
