Twin titles for Gopi’s daughter
Gayatri P., daughter of Indian badminton chief coach Pullela Gopichand, proved her mettle on Sunday by winning both the singles and doubles in U-15 in the Sub – Junior National Ranking Badminton Championship at Bharathiar University in Coimbatore.
On the sixth day of the tournament, organised jointly by the Tamil Nadu Badminton Association (TNBA) and Coimbatore Badminton Association (CBA) under the auspices of Badminton Association of India, Gayatri and her partner Samiya Imad Farooqui proved too strong for their opponents Treesa Jolly and Mehreen Riza from Kerala.
Putting up a dominant show from the start, the top seeded pair clinched the title in the straight sets of 21-17, 21-17. In the singles U- 15 too, Gayatri marched her way to victory scoring 20-22, 21-17, 2111 against Samiya Imad Farooqui, who infact was her doubles partner.
“I never lost hope and played with confidence from the start. She (Samiya) is my good friend too, but I am happy with the win,” said a gleaming Gayatri. Her brother Vishnu Gopichand too participated in the U 13, but couldn’t make it to the finals.
Daughter of an illustrious badminton couple, Gayatri said that she hones her skills upto seven hours a day at her father’s academy. “I start my training at 4.30 am and have three to four sessions a day,” she said.
Her mother Lakshmi Gopichand, an Olympian herself, was accompanying and helping the ‘little champion’ with the nuances of the game at the national tournament to maintain her winning streak.
Badminton may be flowing in her veins, but this thumping win has been something special for Gayatri as she is back in the sport after a few months break down with a knee stress injury.
“She missed playing for nearly four months due to the knee injury. So this is her first great win after recovering from the injury. Her last big match was the ABC championship held in Indonesia in October last year, in which Gayatri won bronze in the U-15 doubles,” said Lakshmi Gopichand. Infact not being in the sport for a while had also slid her in the national badminton rankings. “She used to be number one in U-15 at the national level, but due to her forced rest following the injury, Gayatri lost her top ranking and is now at the ninth spot. But I am not worried about ranking as she can regain it soon with her good performance,” she added.
Gayatri, who is now 13 years, has leant to balance both her academics and sports with ease. “I attend the school only for exams and take online tuitions to follow the lessons. I don’t find any pressure,” she said