Pullela Gopichand (born 16 November 1973) is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the

All England Open Badminton Championships The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the BWF's latest grading system, it was given Super Series status in 2007, upgraded to Super Series Premie ...

in 2001, becoming the second Indian to achieve this feat after

Prakash Padukone Prakash Padukone (born 10 June 1955) is a former Indian badminton player. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1980; the same year he became the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 ...

. He runs the

Gopichand Badminton Academy Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) is a badminton training facility in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Founded in 2008 by the 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion, Pullela Gopichand, the facility trains several badminton players such ...

. He received the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 1999, the

Dronacharya Award The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a ...

in 2009 and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

– India's third highest civilian award – in 2014.

Early life

Pullela Gopichand was born on 16 November 1973 near Chirala Town to Mr. Pullela Subash Chandra and Mrs. Pullela Subbaravamma, in

Prakasam district Prakasam district is one of the thirteen districts in the coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was formed in 1970 and reorganised in 2022 on April 4. The headquarters of the district is Ongole. It is located on the weste ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. Initially, he was interested in playing cricket, but his elder brother encouraged him to take up badminton instead. His family settled in Nizamabad for a while. He did his schooling in

St. Paul's High School, Hyderabad St. Paul's High School is a private, co-educational school established in 1954. It is a missionary List of institutions based in Hyderabad, India, educational institution based in Hyderabad, India and has classes from lower kindergarten to the ...

. He joined

A. V. College Andhra Vidyalaya College of Arts, Science and Commerce, popularly known as A. V. College, is an educational institution located in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, India. The college offers undergraduate graduate school, graduate and post ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

and graduated in public administration. He was the captain of the Indian combined universities badminton team in 1990 and 1991.

Playing career

Pullela was coached by S. M. Arif before

accepted him at Prakash Padukone academ

He also trained under Ganguly Prasad at the Sports Authority of India, SAI

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. Pullela won his first National Badminton Championship title in 1996, and went on to win the title five times in a row, until 2000. He won two gold medals and one silver medal at the Indian national games, 1998, held at

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

. At the international level, he represented India in 3

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

tournaments. In 1996, he won a gold in the SAARC badminton tournament at

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises NT ...

and defended his crown in the next games held at Colombo in 1997. At the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

, he won a silver in the team event and a bronze in men's singles. In 1999, he won the Toulouse Open Championship in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the Scottish Open Championship in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He also emerged as the winner at the Asian satellite tournament held at

in the same year, and lost in the final match of the German Grand Prix Championship. In 2001, he won the

at Birmingham. He defeated then world number one

Peter Gade } Peter Høeg Gade (born 14 December 1976 in Aalborg, Denmark)BWF World Ranking
Bwfbadminto ...

in the semi-finals before defeating Chen Hong of China to lift the trophy. He became the second Indian to achieve the feat after

, who won in 1980.

Achievements

Asian Championships

''Men's singles''

Commonwealth Games

''Men's singles''

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006. ''Men's singles''

IBF International

''Men's singles''

Coaching career

After retiring from his playing career, Pullela founded the

in 2008 after reportedly mortgaging his own house.

Nimmagadda Prasad Nimmagadda Prasad (born 11 October 1961) is an Indian industrialist from Andhra Pradesh, India. He is known for his ventures in the Pharmaceutical and Television industries, and is involved in philanthropic activities through Nimmagadda Fou ...

, a renowned industrialist, donated on a condition that his academy win a medal for India at the Olympics in badminton. The academy produced several badminton players including

Saina Nehwal Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...

P. V. Sindhu Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (born 5 July 1995) is an Indian badminton player. Considered one of India's most successful sportspersons, Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympics and on the BWF circuit, including a gold at th ...

Sai Praneeth Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth (born 10 August 1992) is an Indian badminton player. He became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to win a bronze medal in the BWF World Championships in 2019 after Prakash Padukone in 1983. Sai Praneeth was h ...

Parupalli Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012. He created history by reaching the q ...

Srikanth Kidambi Srikanth Kidambi (born 7 February 1993) is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, Kidambi was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2018. and the Arjuna award in 2015. In 2021, he became the first Indian t ...

Arundhati Pantawane Arundhati Pantawane (born 2 September 1989) is an Indian female badminton singles player. She represented India at the women's team event of the 2010 Asian Games. Among other achievements, she won gold medal at the 2011 National Games along wi ...

Gurusai Datt Rajah Menuri Venkata Gurusaidutt or R. M. V. Gurusaidutt or Gurusai Dutt born (on 1 March 1990) to RMV Bharadwaj and RM Anjana is a badminton player from India. He trains at the Hyderabad's Gopichand Badminton Academy. He won the gold medal at ...

, and

Arun Vishnu Arun Vishnu (born 2 August 1988) is an Indian badminton player, from Calicut, Kerala, who represents India in several international tournaments. He is partnering with Aparna Balan and Alwin Francis in mixed doubles category and men's doubles ...

. Saina Nehwal went on to win the bronze medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, while

went on to win the silver medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, the bronze medal at the pandemic-hit

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, and also became the first Indian to win the gold medal at the

BWF World Championships The BWF World Championships, formerly known as IBF World Championships, and also known as the World Badminton Championships, is a badminton tournament sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The tournament is one of the most prestigious i ...

. Pullela also served as the official Indian Olympic Badminton Team coach at the 2016

Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

held in Brazil.

Awards and honours

, 1999. *

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna The Khel Ratna Award (), officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award ( Major Dhyan Chand Sport Jewel Award), is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Governm ...

, 2001 *

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, 2005 *

, 2009 *

, 2014 * Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2013, under Category Establishment and Management of Sports Academies of Excellence- Pullela Gopichand Academy of Badminton,

* He was bestowed upon an honorary doctorate by

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

on the occasion of their 52nd Convocation. Rewards for Coaching the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics silver medallist

* from the

Government of Telangana The Government of Telangana also known as Telangana Government, is the governing authority of the state of Telangana in India. It consists of an executive, a judiciary and a legislative. The state government is headed by the Governor of Telan ...

* from

Badminton Association of India Badminton Association of India (BAI) is the governing body of badminton in India. BAI is an association registered under the societies act. It was formed in 1934, and has been holding national-level tournaments in India since 1936. BAI has 28 ...

* from the

Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 Member of the Legislative ...

Personal life

Pullela married fellow badminton player P. V. V. Lakshmi on 5 June 2002. They have two children, a daughter named

Gayathri Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, IAST:Gāyatrī) is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and bears the epithet of ''Vedamata'' (mother of the Vedas). Gayatri is ofte ...

and a son named Vishnu. In Dec 2020, he launched guided meditation sessions for athletes named "Dhyana for Sports" in the App Dhyana. The sessions have been designed by him based on his experience training athletes. He is also the Director of Dhyana. Dhyana, in collaboration with Heartfulness Institute, was the official meditation partner of the

Indian Olympic Association The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams ...

’s (IOA) for Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pullela, Gopichand 1973 births Living people Indian male badminton players Indian sports coaches Telugu people Indian national badminton champions Racket sportspeople from Andhra Pradesh Badminton coaches Badminton players at the 2002 Asian Games Badminton players at the 1998 Asian Games People from Prakasam district Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award Recipients of the Dronacharya Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton Badminton players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Olympic badminton players of India Badminton players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Asian Games competitors for India Indian badminton coaches