We had just finished lunch and managed to avoid an invasion from a monkey at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. Gopi, Prasad and I had settled down to have some lovely watermelon in his office when the Dronacharya pointed out a couple of young Mizo kids training outside. “They are your story,” he said with a smile.
My interest had instantly peaked. Mizoram and badminton isn’t the natural combination, and it would be nice to hear it from the man.
“It was just after Rio when a senior IAS officer from Mizoram wrote to me for the first time. It took me a few months to get things moving with him, and then I made a trip to Mizoram. That’s when we had the first discussions. Thereafter we set up 40 regional centres with one nodal centre, with the plan of getting the best to come and train here in Hyderabad. Today there are 862 kids training with local coaches, and 10 of the kids are here in the academy as well, with some coaches from Mizoram who now work here,” Gopi said and paused for breath.
We keep speaking of the North East rising and here it was, right in front of me.
“You will be pleased to know that in the Indian junior badminton team that won the team bronze in the world championship, there were two Mizo kids who played a stellar part. And in the national championships, Mizoram won the team gold,” Gopi was beaming. “If you ask me, this is one of my biggest success stories of recent times,” he said.
By then Bam Bam had attracted my attention. “He is currently top 10 in the U17 rankings and has a bright future,” said Gopi. Not just Bam Bam. There are a bunch of kids from Mizoram training in the academy and a clear pathway has now been created for them to excel. Scouting happens in Aizawl with coaches from Hyderabad travelling to the state, and thereafter the selected kids are given basic training by local coaches who have all been trained by men from the Gopichand academy. The best of these kids then make it to the nodal academy, and the cream make it to Hyderabad.
“A lot can be done. The sports minister of Mizoram was here a week earlier and we have put a plan in place. The state is determined to make a mark nationally,” said Gopi before biting into another piece of watermelon.
By then Bam Bam had come into his office. A young kid with a glint in his eye, he was all smiles seeing his idol. “Do you have the photo of yours with me?” asked Gopi, and Bam Bam was instantly on the phone searching for it.
The photo (you can see it here) is a stunner. Bam Bam was in Gopi’s lap in 2018 and in seven years he has risen to the top 10 in the country. Not just that, Mizoram are proud winners of the national title as well. If there is a will, there is always a way, and with Gopi there I expect much more from the Mizoram story going forward.
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