Space Shuttler

THE 6.15 evening news sank her heart. After waiting in trepidation for the whole of arather grey January day of 1994, Subbarammaa and her husband had turned on the radio attheir Delhi home to catch their son Gopi in action at the Pune National Games. Instead,what came through were dreadful details of Pullela collapsing and writhing in pain on thecourt. The upcoming badminton player had had a multiple ligament rupture.

Within moments Subbarammaa’s mind was swamped by a flood of images. Fleeting yetvivid and haunting—a 12-year-old Gopi walking into the Lal Bahadur Indoor Stadium atHyderabad for the first day of badminton practice; early morning exercises before rushingoff to St Paul’s or later St Mary’s School; animated dissections of the gamewith family.

It was the first major injury suffered by Pullela Gopichand—who last week, at 27,became the All England champion. Doctors decided on a primary reconstruction of his leftknee which was to be followed by a frustratingly long rehab regimen.

It wasn’t easy: when depression set in, doctors would inspire him with examples ofDutch footballers Rudd Gullit and Johann Cryuff, who overcame mid-career debilities tocontinue with their streak of stardom. “It was his self-belief that came in handy inhis fight against the lonely eight months when he was completely off court,” recallsDelhi-based orthopaedic surgeon Ashok Rajgopal, who treated the badminton star during thetime.

Besides, Gopichand was desperate to bounce right back into the leaping, smashing,darting, lunging world of the shuttle and racquet. Beneath his quiet disposition lay anobdurate athlete. So, despite the bodyblow which led many to churn out epitaphs to hissporting career, he was dogged enough to climb all the way back to peak-level badminton.Says Gopichand: “My happiness comes only from the game so I was all the more keen tocome out of it.”

If the 1994 surgery was the nadir of Gopichand’s career, last week’s win atthe Yonex All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham is certainly the acme of allhis achievements. To be sure, he has been on a roll since the past few years with wins inthe Toulouse, Scottish and the Asian Satellite Open, two Grand Prix finals, and a stellarperformance at the Thomas Cup finals. The only disappointment was a scratchy gig at theSydney Olympics. No wonder, when Gopichand made his tilt at history in front of more than20,000 people at Birmingham, steamrolling big shuttle names with even bigger credentials,Ganguly Prasad, his delirious coach, cried: “Now it is time to party!”

But just like many of our homegrown supermen, Gopi began the biggest match of hiscareer playing possibly the most dismal game of the week. First it was 3-7 and soon 6-11in the opening game against China’s Chen Hong. Too much expectation extinguishing topform? Or was it the moment eclipsing the player yet again? We are Indians. Don’t wealways miss the bullseye even after being so perilously close to it?

Gopichand could have succumbed to the shadow of big-match temperament or rather thelack of it. He could have fussed about inhospitable hosts, bad coaching, or the lack ofsponsors and stadia and chickened out. Instead, he picked up when the dreams were slowlyslipping away. In just 44 minutes he had wrapped up the game. A champion and a stylish oneat that.

Seven years ago, Rajgopal demanded the All-England trophy as ‘payback’ forhis crucial surgery. Says a visibly thrilled Subbarammaa: “It’s been delayed butwe’ve paid him in full.”

AND along with her India is celebrating the birth of a new champion, who has claimed theworld’s most coveted badminton title—the equivalent, say, ofWimbledon—exactly two decades after Prakash Padukone had clinched it with a victoryin the All England and World Badminton Championship. “Till yesterday, I used to ratePrakash above anyone else. But today Gopi is in a different mould. He got evenbetter,” says P. Manoj Kumar, a Hyderabad-based badminton player and friend. Chips inK. Venkat, who went to school with him: “I had written him off completely after hisinjury but he has proved me wrong.” England has helped Gopichand break the ice. He isfinally a winner—no questions asked—in a major tournament. But this successactually caps his mercurial rise over the past few years. In 1999, he singlehandedlycatapulted India into the final rounds of the Thomas Cup. For a perennial member of the‘last 16’ brigade with immense potential and occasional upsets under his belt,it was the perfect time to break free.

Y2K was more promising with the world number 38 breaking into the top 10 in a yearflat. By mid-January, he was sizzling at six stretching even the top seed IndonesianTaufique Hidayat. The exhaustive sessions at the German league were also yielding positiveresults on a “more focused and professional” Gopichand. The run-up to the HolyGrail of badminton couldn’t have been any better.

But what about the clock that’s ticking away? At 27, he seems pushing too hardagainst topnotch younger competitors Ji Xinpeng (China) and current world number one PeterGade (Denmark). Even Padukone lifted the All England at 25. Despite the win, Gopichand isstill not in the top five. Just before the All England, his ranking had, in fact, slippedto 10. So, will he survive the next Olympics?

Replies Prasad: “It’s all about planning and selecting the rights tourneys.He can still be at the top for the next couple of years... Didn’t Poul-Larsen (Danishbadminton champion) win the Olympics after 30?” Avers Gopichand: “I am dedicatedenough to pursue the game and frankly I can’t think of anything else.”

The shift in the format of the game—from the present best-of-three of 15 pointseach to a best-of-five with 7 points—is likely to improve his prospects. Speedmavericks like Gopi who rely on a mix of touch and aggressive bursts should gain from thischange (see box).

Behind all the feats actually lie the unshakable conviction of the parents and theperseverance of the coaches—first Mohd Arif in Hyderabad (1987-96), then PrakashPadukone at the bpl Academy, Bangalore (1996-99), and now sai coach Ganguly Prasad.

Aggression was a quality which Gopichand never lacked. Reminisces Arif: “I saw itin him. Even at 12, he was trying to jump and smash like a mature player. He also hadspeed... I groomed him with a blend of aggression along with modern techniques. Believeme, I’ve never seen a child with such range.” Others remember him as a fairlymature, rounded player. Padukone says that he had all the strokes in the repertoire whenhe came under his tutelage. “All we had to do was to help him improvise on hisstrokes, dribble at the net and play to the corners. It was here that Gopichand developedhis unique style—he toned down his speed but in return roped in consistency at thenet.” Their approach may be different but the Padukone influence is still evident.“There were similarities in the fluid movement and the deft net game, althoughGopichand is more attacking than the master,” noticed The Daily Telegraph. Finally,“Prasad sir” has helped him rectify the defence weaknesses. Along with it, akiller smash has been added to his armoury and he can now easily finish long rallies withthat.

Off court, the amiable Hyderabadi, son of a bank officer and a homemaker, is intenselyreligious and meditative. An ardent believer in the ‘Art of Living’, Gopichandcarries with him an idol of Ganesha and a snapshot of his guru Ravi Shankar. At home,he’s usually glued to the Aastha channel where godmen hold forth. Last December, theIndian Oil employee—he was promoted to the rank of manager after his triumph lastweek—made a trip to Rishikesh for a holy dip. Gopichand loves the mountainsintensely—and now he’s climbed the highest of them all.