Pullela Gopichand, after having shaped many Arjunas of Indian badminton, will now focus on mentoring the Dronacharyas for the sport.
The Padma Bhushan badminton coach Gopichand has joined hands with The Sports School as the mentor for the badminton programme. The former All-England champion has expressed his desire to take on a concrete role of mentorship after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
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“I have been following the work of The Sports School quite closely. Their vision is very much aligned with mine. I have known Anup Sridhar for the last two decades, both as player and Coach. I am delighted to work closely with Anup at The Sports School in our goal to making India a dominating force in world badminton,” said Gopichand, India’s Chief National Badminton Coach, who underlined the importance of inculcating student-athletes the values of sports and education.
India’s most successful badminton coach, who has been instrumental in bringing India two prized Olympic medals, made it known that he wants to utilise his experience and expertise in building India as a sporting superpower by nurturing the infrastructure, ecosystem and the coaches.
“Post the Olympics, I would want to move away and dedicate my time on a mentor role and would be working towards developing the coaches through the coaches programme,” the former All England Open champion added.
Built with the vision to inspire the next generation of world-class student-athletes, The Sports School aims to create a culture and environment where sports and education come together. Established in June 2019, The Sports School, Bangalore aims to recognise the abundance of young talent in the country and provide them the opportunity to train under proven champions in world class facilities without compromising on their academic needs.
With their efforts to strengthen India’s future as a sporting powerhouse, The Sports School has brought on board Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy for tennis, Bengaluru Football Club for football and Center for Cricketing Excellence for cricket with Robin Uthappa as advisor and Jain Group of Institutions for education.
With plans to open in Hyderabad early next year, they have now partnered with Anup Sridhar Badminton Academy for Badminton. While Sridhar has been providing training for beginners, intermediate and for professionals.
“Since its inception, The Sports School has made the perfect amalgamation of Sports and Education a priority for student-athletes to mould them into well-rounded champions. In Anup, we have someone who has played the game at the highest level and a proven new-age coach. Pullela Gopichand was a champion player himself and the best badminton coach we have ever had. I am very excited for our student-athletes as they now have these two legends guiding them.” said Dr. Chenraj, Chairman, The Sports School.
The group has been a pathbreaker in bettering the physical literacy of the country, which is why they have plans to tie up with close to 200 institutions across India to lend the expertise and bring together education and sporting excellence.
The Sports School’s mission of producing Olympic medallists for the country has been bolstered after a collaboration with leading education group, the Jain Group of Institutions, whose vision is to empower talent through its blend of academic rigour and sports.
With such elite alumni, Rohan Bopanna, cricketers Manish Pandey and KL Rahul have all passed out from the Jain Group of Schools and are doing exceedingly well in their respective fields with the right kind of support they received from the school.
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“For any institution to flourish, consolidation and expansion are absolutely essential. When you talk about badminton, Hyderabad is the first name that comes to one’s mind. We definitely have the city in our plans in the next expansion phase which is early next year, along with Mumbai and north-east in the following five years” said Mr Srinivas, Founder of The Sports School and Director of Kalpen Ventures
The carefully designed 12 indoor synthetic courts is on track to open in May 2020. The badminton hall includes a state-of-the-art gym, recovery and counselling rooms and a game review room. The badminton program also includes mental conditioning coaches, physiotherapists, nutritionist to ensure all the needs of a professional athlete are provided in one facility.
With Arjuna awardees Pankaj Advani and Shikha Tandon on the advisory board along with the state-of-the-art facilities and professional partners, The Sports School is here to inspire budding talents and change the sporting landscape of the country.
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