I’ve never missed a practice session: Gayatri Gopichand

England seems to be a good hunting ground for the Gopichands While father Pullela became the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to win the All England title in 2001 daughter Gayatri clinched the womenrsquos doubles bronze medal in the recently concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games at BirminghamldquoI love England My father won the All England Championship here and now I have won a bronze at this placerdquo Gayatri 19 told midday here recentlyGayatri and Treesa Jolly also 19 defeated Australiarsquos Gronya Somerville and Wendy HsuanYu Chen 2115 2118 in the bronze medal matchlsquoCWG bronze is specialrsquoldquoI feel so happy to win a bronze medal This being my first Commonwealth Games getting a bronze is a huge feeling There was disappointment when we lost the semifinals but winning the bronze medal match made us happyrdquo she said adding that the doubles pair had prepared well ldquoMore importantly we wanted to stay fit throughout the Games We were confident of a good showrdquoGayatri was all praise for her comparatively more aggressive partner ldquoTreesa is good fun to be with We have worked very hard on the court She is an aggressive player and has good attacking skillsrdquo she saidSo is there any pressure being Gopichandrsquos daughter ldquoThere is no pressure being Gopichandrsquos daughter I play my normal game and in fact it is rather a privilege and a delight to have Gopichand as my father I have never missed a practice session ever since I began playing from a young age In fact just to be selected to the Commonwealth team was a huge thing for merdquo said GayatriAlso Read Irsquom aiming for F1 in 2024 Jehan DaruvalaShe did agree though that it is advantageous to have both parents mum PVV Lakshmi was also a top shuttler as players ldquoThey parents tell me how to play and discuss the nuances of the game They motivate me a lot lsquoIt doesnrsquot matter if you lose a match but you have to give your 100 per cent and enjoy the gamersquo they say I discuss the game a lot with my father He is a strict coach when Irsquom on the courtrdquo said GayatriDenmarkrsquos doubles coach Mathias Boe has been coaching Gayatri and Treesa recently and that has helped them a lot felt Gayatri ldquoWe have started practising under Mathias recently We are improving our game He told us to enjoy the game and be happy on the court He also told me to be aggressive on the court He is an amazing coachrdquo she saidGayatri also highlighted the competition in doubles and her changing outlook towards some of the top teams ldquoThe doubles game has become fast therefore fitness comes into focus The Japanese Chinese and Koreas are extremely fast Itrsquos always a challenge when we meet players of these countriesrdquo she saidMemorable AllEngland outingThe young Indian pair created one of the biggest upsets at the All England Championships this year stunning World No 2 and World Championship silver medalists Sohee Lee and Sseungchan Shin of Korea in the womenrsquos doubles quarterfinal Gayatri believes that win and the CWG bronze will inspire the duo to do well at the BWF World Championship that starts in Tokyo on August 22 ldquoThe All England tournament will always be a good memory We beat the second seeds from Korea in the quarters That was one of the biggest victories and gave us a lot of motivation We want to enjoy the World Championship next and this CWG bronze is a big confidence booster for usrdquo Gayatri signed off