Gopichand invites CM for World badminton tourney

Hyderabad, July 31 :-

  Former All-England badminton champion and now chief national coach, Pullela Gopichand on Friday met the Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

The Chief Minister has congratulated him as he has been nominated for the Dronacharya award for this year.

Gopichand has invited the Chief Minister for the BWF Yonex-Sunrise world badminton championship scheduled to be held at Gachibowli Stadium here from August 10 to 16.

Speaking on the occasion, Gopichand said that the Dronacharya Award means not just recognition of his role as a coach but also puts a greater responsibility on his shoulders.

“I don’t say that these awards will usher in a sea-change in my attitude towards the job on hand. For, I never believed in being involved in the sport to get awards. But I am happy that I was conferred with what is arguably the most prestigious award for any coach in Indian sport,” Gopi remarked.

 “Definitely, it is a matter of great privilege to be the second recipient of this prestigious award from Hyderabad after my first coach Arif Sir (S.M. Arif),” he said.

 “But more importantly, this award should be a major fillip for Indian badminton itself, particularly ahead of next month’s World championship,” he added.

Gopichand won the Arjuna award in 1995. He got the country's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, in 2001.

And this year, he has been nominated for the Dronacharya awards. He had also won the Padma Shri in 2005.