We'll win better medals at Tokyo Games, says Pullela Gopichand

Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Thursday (September 26) exuded confidence that Indian shuttlers will put up a good show at the Tokyo Olympics, bettering their performance from the last editions.

“We have been performing well for the last over a decade and God willing, we will win better medals in the 2020 Olympics,” Gopichand said when asked if Indian shuttlers will be able to change the colour of the medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Saina Nehwal had won the bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics before PV Sindhu bettered it with a silver in the last edition at 2016 Rio Games.

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“God willing, we will win better medal as the country has been performing well since 2008 at international arena,” Gopichand said.

Gopichand, who was here to attend a function ‘Celebration of Sports’ organized by Tata Steel, said: “During the last three decades, we have achieved ‘alphabetical’ and ‘numerical’ literacy but have gone down as far as ‘physical literacy’ was concerned.”

Gopichand, a 2001 All England Champion, advised children to be disciplined and work hard to achieve goals.

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Recalling his formative years when he had failed in an engineering examination in 1991, Gopichand said, “My mother used to apply for a job for me in every corporate house as she was very much concerned about my future.

“However, I had won the junior national title and also joined Tata Steel in Jamshedpur in the same year (1991),” Gopichand said.

To a question on diet and sport science, Gopichand said, “Indian culture, knowledge and age-old tradition have a lot of values and we should not leave it to go after Western world completely. Science is important but it is evolving. Hence, we cannot lose our culture.