'Today I am not afraid of any player on the circuit'

For a sportsman who suffered a serious knee injury which almost ended his budding career six years ago, Pullela Gopichand has done remarkably well over the years, particularly in 2000. From 38 at the start of the year, India's No. 1 badminton player catapulted to No 7 in the world rankings by the year-end, and to No. 6 by mid-January, 2001, something no Indian, barring Prakash Padukone in 1981, in any racket sport has been able to attain.

Indeed, the year gone by will be one to remember for Gopichand. It saw him become the only Indian shuttler ever to reach the semi-finals of three of the biggest Asian events; defeat world No 1 Taufique Hidayat of Indonesia in a league match in the Ipoh Masters in November and also qualify to play in the US $350,000 World Grand Prix finals at Brunei in February 2001.

The four-time senior national champion, who won the Rs 100,000 Syed Modi memorial championship in Lucknow in December, spoke to former India Thomas Cup team captain Sanjay Sharma about his career and aspirations. Excerpts:

You jumped from world No. 38 to No. 7 in almost 12 months. A huge jump! How did this come about?

Well, the past year or so has been very productive for me. Last November I won the Scottish and Toulouse Opens. Then, I also won the Asian Satellite at Hyderabad. The Thomas Cup in February this year at Delhi also was a great one, as I earned precious points. But in the Malaysian Open and senior Asian championships at Jakarta I reached the semis. All these performances helped me achieve this high rank.

Having done this -- arriving in the top ten of the world -- do you feel you can go higher?

Definitely. I will try my best to go higher. The players above me, like Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark, Hendrawan of Indonesia, Xia Xuenze of China [the reigning All-England champion] and Malaysia's Wong Choon Han are the ones I have not defeated. But I have defeated Ji Xin Peng of China, who won the Sydney Olympics, and also Taufique Hidayat, who is the world No 1. So, it is not impossible to get higher, say into the top 5. If I can do well in the Korean Open, later this month, or the Grand Prix finals in February, I can go higher.

I have come this far, why will I not aim to go higher? Today I am not afraid of any player on the circuit.

You almost gave up the sport because of injury six years back. What made you endure all the pain, anguish and trauma of two surgeries? What makes you tick, so to say?

I never give up. I am a trier at all costs. My knee was shattered six years ago at the National Games in Pune, when I was playing doubles. There was insufferable pain when I collapsed on the court. It took two surgeries, in almost 10 months, before I could even dream of playing badminton again. The memories of those days are still painful. But once I could start running and doing exercises, even though with a heavy and bothersome knee brace, I just wanted to start my rehabilitation as a shuttler. I was just not going to give up. I wanted to be a champion in every way.

I think competitive sport gives one that quality. You learn to endure failure, disappointment and injury. In any other sphere of life, this may not be possible. For last two years, I have done away with the knee barce and I am getting stronger and stronger. I am happy.

Your comments on your performances in Asian tournaments, specially your win over Taufique Hidayat in Ipoh?

Taufique today is what Rudy Hartono was in the 1970s. A most complete player and so young -- just 19. He was already world No 1 when I played him; twice runner-up at the All-England and winner of so many major titles, including the Thomas Cup gold in May, at Kuala Lumpur, where he won all his matches. I had lost to him before, but at the senior ABC it was close, as I lost the second game after leading 12-4.

Taufique is extraordinarily calm. In Ipoh, I just wanted to play with a plan, and that was to not allow him to get into any rhythm. Mind you, I also feel that it was not his best day and I managed to win; perhaps the best win so far in my career. Major Asian championships are hard and I have been lucky to have reached the semi-finals of the last three of them. It has been a good year for me and I now look forward to the next season.

But the Sydney Olympics, obviously, is one failure you will like to forget.

Yes, and no! I think, under the circumstances I did alright. I defeated Druzhenko of the Ukraine; a very tough player indeed (ranked 18th in the world today) and lost the next round to second seeded Hendrawan of Indonesia, who eventually won the silver medal by reaching the final. Hendrawan just did not allow me to play my game and was quick on the net, where I was slow. But I feel that had I got enough top-level practice at Sydney I would have done better.

We did reach the venue in time, but since there was no other Indian in our squad, barring Aparna Popat, I could not get the match practice. And other teams were obviously reluctant to play with me as they had their own team players. I was mentally sharp, but things did not mix correctly for me at Sydney. That is one regret as one may not get another shot at an Olympic medal.

With other Indian singles players also doing well, do you feel Indian players are now respected abroad?

Yes, I agree there is a lot of respect these days for our players on the world circuit. Aparna Popat has done very well. She was world-ranked 16th at the beginning of last year. That unfortunate ban for three months by the IBF robbed her of getting into the top 10. I am sure she will do just that this season. Siddharth Jain is 39th ranked and he has done well by winning the French Open. Abhin Shyam Gupta and Sachin Ratti -- both are now feared on the circuit as they have extended some big names to three games. I think, as far as our men's singles line-up is concerned, at the moment we are well-placed. We must work in other areas.

What is wrong with the way the game is run at the moment. What can be done to ensure higher standards at the world level by Indian shuttlers?

Lack of planning is a big problem the players face. The scheduling of foreign trips should be closely looked into. Last year, for example, after the Thomas Cup in Delhi, we had the senior nationals followed by the all-England and French Open, again followed in quick succession by the Dutch, German, Danish Opens and the ABC. There was not enough time in between for resting and training.

Our doubles is also a big problem and mostly pairs are not able to practice extensively before playing abroad. I feel the BAI is seized of these problems and is looking into them, especially having more doubles training camps where specialist coaches will tackle the problem. This is the correct way. Otherwise, the BAI is doing alright with enough exposure to all players. On that score we are fine. But another thing that should be looked into is the continuity of our coaches. I do not understand why different coaches have to go with different teams. There should be fixed terms for coaches so that they can grow in the job.

You play at SAI, Bangalore, these days. Is that good enough?

Oh yes! I am very happy at SAI. They give me all the help I need and my coach Prasad Ganguly is helping me a lot and we are doing okay.

How does Prakash Padukone's absence from BAI's decision-making harm the prospects?

Prakash Sir was a very important factor in Indian badminton doing well these past few years. For me, especially, his advice was always something I looked forward to. He is still there when needed. But since he does not pay much attention to the daily working of the BAI, it is bound to affect the future of many players. I wish he had stayed on.

If there is one thing you can name, that can really propel Indian badminton to superstar status like the Indonesians or Chinese, what would you say?

It is the coaching which is vital. We must have a better system, somehow. We lack scientific training or proper coaching programmes at all levels, particularly grass root level. This is something the BAI must address urgently.

Finally, to what factors do you attribute your remarkable success?

To God, and hard work. Without either you will not reach anywhere.

Related report:

Gopichand, Aparna get top billing

Interviews