Pullela Gopichand: Medals, not the only reason why we should play sport

Rio Olympics silver medallist along with coach Pullela Gopichand during a felicitation ceremony yesterday. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

He sauntered into the Crystal Ballroom at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel yesterday along with his 'silver' student PV Sindhu, almost unrecognisable after he got his head tonsured recently during a visit to Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.

Rio Olympics silver medallist along with coach Pullela Gopichand during a felicitation ceremony yesterday. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

Coach Pullela Gopichand, who has been on a victory parade ever since Sindhu's historic Rio feat, spoke his heart out during a felicitation ceremony organised by the Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA). Quoting Swami Vivekananda, Gopichand stressed on the need for physical literacy, pointing out that medals should not be the only reason why one should play sport.

"As much as sport and education is important, somewhere down the line we have lost the importance of physical movement. We have moved a lot more towards alphabetical literacy and have forgotten the basics of what physical literacy is - the art of moving in a particular direction. How can we decide which sport to take unless a kid knows how to jump, throw, run and move? In our race to become more and more educated alphabetically, we have lost the fundamentals of physical movement," Gopichand said.

During the event Gopichand and Sindhu were felicitated by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, who also announced a cash prize of Rs75 lakh and Rs25 lakh respectively.

Guru Gopichand feels physical education needs to take centre stage. "Education, sport and physical exercises actually have a lot of synergies together. It's time we look at our education system. Sport needs to be up there. Medals are not the only reason why we should play sport. There's a lot more to sport than medals," he remarked.

"After many years sport has been talked about in this manner, right from the highest authority. It's time to build on this, align the systems so that we can get consistent,"
he added.

India's Chief National Coach also highlighted the lack of grounds as many bright talents can't afford to pay the huge sum that clubs demand. Coaches development was another key element Gopichand added emphasis on. "We should facilitate methods where coaches can be recognised and educated. As much as players we should identify and nurture coaches as well. We need to standardise and systemise the system so that each element works in sync," he said.