Indian · Nagandla, Andhra Pradesh, India · Born 16 November 1973Pullela Gopichand is an Indian badminton coach and former player who became the second Indian to win the All England Open in 2001, and went on to coach Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to Olympic medals.
Pullela Gopichand won the 2001 All England Open despite chronic knee problems that required multiple surgeries throughout his career, then mortgaged his own house to build the academy in Hyderabad that would go on to develop Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth — making his contribution to Indian badminton as a coach arguably larger than anything he achieved as a player.. He trained at Prakash Padukone's academy and won the Indian national championship five consecutive years from 1996 to 2000, adding a bronze medal in men's singles and a team silver at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Gopichand's career, hampered throughout by chronic knee problems that required multiple surgeries, reached its peak at the 2001 All England Open, where he defeated China's Chen Hong in a final lasting just 44 minutes without dropping a game, becoming the second Indian, after Padukone, to win the title. It remained India's best performance at the event for over two decades. Gopichand retired from competitive play in 2002 due to his knee injuries, and was appointed coach of the Indian national badminton team in 2006. In 2008, he mortgaged his own house to establish the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, which grew into one of the world's leading badminton training centres. Under his coaching, Saina Nehwal won India's first Olympic badminton medal (bronze, 2012), and PV Sindhu won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics and gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Gopichand also developing Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap, and HS Prannoy. He has received the Padma Shri (2005), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2001), and the Padma Bhushan (2014).
Winning the 2001 All England Open and later coaching multiple Indian Olympic medallists
How They Played
Precise, technically sound player known for controlled, dominant performances despite chronic injuries
Lasting Impact
Credited with revolutionising Indian badminton as a coach, developing a generation of Olympic medallists and world-class players
Career Honours
- All England Open champion (2001), second Indian to win the title
- 5x consecutive Indian national champion (1996-2000)
- Commonwealth Games bronze, men's singles (1998)
- Padma Bhushan (2014)
- Coached India's first three Olympic badminton medals
Indian Athletes