More than champions, what we need is champion’s mindset: Pullela Gopichand

NAGPUR: An astute master revels in his aura and when Pullela Gopichand began speaking on Sunday, his words complemented the vibe perfectly. The national badminton coach spoke at length on how we need to change our mindset regarding sports in India.
“We need to change the goalposts of how sports is looked at. Sadly, today, medal is the only parameter to judge a sportsperson. But, in reality, a medal does not make you a better human being.We have made it look as if winning medal is everything. Our goalposts needs to change,” said Gopichand during the annual awards function of Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur.
“When we play sports, we develop health, character, human bonding, community building, and we also happen to win medals. We all are winners in that regard. I try to bring this mindset to my academy, but I am failing terribly because of the competition. People say my academy is a factory of producing sportspersons. I don’t do want that. I do not want to make champions. I want to produce a champion mindset,” he added.
Addressing a gathering of award-winning sportspersons, who played the perfect audience to him, Gopichand also gave lessons on how perceptions need to be changed. “People often say we should support good sportspersons. I feel we should support sportspersons, good or bad doesn’t matter. We should not undermine anyone’s efforts. These days, we lose track by only looking for who is doing well. Every time I have to pick one kid out of ten, I feel bad. But for pursue of excellence, we have to do that,” the 42-year-old said.
Gopichand, who has been shaping careers of many Indian badminton players including Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu, also strolled down the memory lane and shared how badminton happened to him. “When I started badminton, I never felt I would do well. Badminton happened by chance. My father was working in a bank. We happened to stay close to Lal Bahadur Stadium. We went to take cricket admission but it was full. Tennis was expensive. Finally, I got admission in badminton. That was the reality and here I am today.”
Gopichand also revealed his vulnerable side by sharing how he was weak in mathematics. “For many years, in schools, I wasn’t very good at maths. But luckily, I was good at sports and it has given me so much. The more I think I know, sports gives me the reason to say ‘I don’t know.’ It teaches you a lot. Today, I can say that we can live comfortably, happily, successfully after failing a mathematics class. But a generation will not succeed unless we pass a physical education test,” he said.