Pullela Gopichand is a former Indian badminton player, and the second Indian to win the All England Open Badminton tournament.
EARLY LIFE
He was born on 16 November 1973, Andhra Pradesh, India. When he was young, His family moved to Hyderabad. He was interested in Cricket from his early childhood, but, his elder brother encouraged him to play Badminton. He did his schooling at St. Paul’s High School, Hyderabad. Then, he completed his education in public administration from A. V. College, Hyderabad. Where he was the caption of the Indian combined universities badminton team in 1990 and 1991.
In 1996, He won his first National Badminton Championship title and wins the title five times in a row until, 2000. In 1998, He won two gold and one silver medal at the Indian National games held at Imphal. In the 1998, Commonwealth Games, he won a silver in the team event and a bronze in men’s singles. In 2001, He won the prestigious All England badminton championship. He defeated China’s Chen Hong 15–12 and 15–6 in the final match. He was the second Indian to win the championship after Prakash Padukone.
After retiring from the game, He established the Gopichand badminton academy in Hyderabad to provide young and upcoming Indian players a space where their physical and mental skills could be honed. Badminton star Saina Nehwal is a product of the academy. So are players such as Parupalli Kashyap, P.V. Sindhu, and Gurusai Datt.
AWARDS
In 1999, he received the Arjuna Award. In 2005, He also received Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian of India. In 2014, He honored with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of India.