The Southern Rising Summit: Pullela Gopichand, former Indian badminton player and current head coach of the Indian national badminton team, shared insights into the challenges and setbacks athletes face on their journey to the Olympics, as well as the even greater struggles they face when they fall short of a podium finish at the World premier sporting event, while speaking at ABP Network’s The Southern Rising Summit in Hyderabad. Gopichand also shared his reaction to the disqualification of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat from the 2024 Olympics after she was found overweight for her weight category.

Gopichand, a recipient of Padma Bhushan, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award, became only the second shuttler from India after Prakash Padukone to win the All England Open Badminton Championships, which he won in Birmingham in 2001. Additionally, Gopichand also took a bronze medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in the men’s singles event and then took a silver in the same tournament in the men’s team category. Now serving as the Chief National Coach of India’s national badminton team, he also runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy.

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Gopichand spoke at ABP’s The Southern Rising Summit about what it takes for an athlete to become a champion and potentially reach the Olympics in whatever sport they participate in.

“Passion and obsession are what is needed. A rational mind cannot get there because one must believe in the unbelievable and see the impossible as possible. Plan B is not wanted because Plan A is the only thing that can get you there.” said Gopichand.

Gopichand reflects on Vinesh Phogat’s near Miss Paris 2024

Gopichand also spoke about the athlete’s disappointment when they fail to reach the top despite all their hard work, citing the example of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat. Phogat, who had been poised to become India’s first ever wrestling gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was deemed 100 grams overweight for her weight category on the morning of her 50 kg final, leading to her disqualification from the Games.

Vinesh and her team made intense last-minute efforts to meet the weight requirement and used extreme weight loss methods, including blood extraction and hair cutting.

Watch Gopichand’s interaction with ABP Ntework here:

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“Above all, sports is the one thing that teaches people about failure the best. The seeds of getting back up after a loss come from a very young age. Many athletes are trained to deal with failure. They are trained to believe that they will win but they are also trained to get back up every time they fail, which is a very important part of the training that keeps them stable when they face absolute disappointment, says Gopichand.

“That’s what Vinesh probably had to go through. You’d see boxers, wrestlers, weightlifters and others, in the Olympic cafeteria barely eating — maybe just 5 or 6 raisins. If they put me on a wrestler’s diet plan, I’d probably go 8 kg off my weight. That’s how much they squeeze you.”

Gopichand sheds light on the extreme weight loss procedures athletes go through

Explaining that athletes endure intense struggles for weight loss, Gopichand emphasized that Vinesh likely faced significant difficulty in losing 300-400 grams, and losing another 100 grams may have been impossible due to the lack of body weight left.

“There is a lot of torture that a player has to go through to lose weight at such events and I am sure Vinesh had to go through hell to lose the 300-400 grams, and to lose another 100 grams was probably not possible – there must have been something left in her body to lose, Gopichand explained.