Aim to have at least 10 Indians in top-30 in each category: Gopichand | Badminton News – Times of India

Pullela Gopichand was a member of the National team and he felt disappointed with the government decision, but he was not angry as it was the standard of badminton then.
THOMAS CUP WIN: WISH TEAM INDIA
“That move by the government spurred us to win the team silver at the next edition and now winning Thomas Cup is the ultimate achievement for any national team,” said Gopichand, the chief coach of the Indian team, who had another busy day, albeit in a different manner.

From Sunday evening till now, he has been receiving congratulatory messages, talking to the players and savouring the sensational victory.
When asked if he expected this moment would come one day when he took charge as the chief coach in 2006, he said: “I did not think about it in 2006. The mandate was to prepare the team to do well in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But before 2010 we started tasting success and we started raising the bar of our own expectations. From 2011 we won a medal at every World Championship and every Olympic Games and of course, the Commonwealth Games as well,” Gopichand said, adding that he started believing that India could achieve this sort of success a few years after taking over as coach.

The 2001 All England champion also thanked the consistent support he received. “The government believed in me and backed me. For example SAI is spending Rs 25 crore every year for training, competition of Indian badminton. Our (Badminton Association of India) president Himanta Biswa Sarma will never say ‘no’ whatever we ask. With this kind of support we have achieved success,” Gopichand said.
Even as the country is celebrating the success, Himanta, known for taking quick decisions, appointed 30 coaches and Gopichand has been named as the chairman of the development committee.

“The need of the hour is more coaches and our president appointed 30 new national coaches on Sunday. We will send them to whichever area we need. All of them will be on BAI payroll. These are the kind of decisions which will go a long way in helping the sport,” Gopichand said.
Under the tutelage of Gopi, Indian shuttlers have won almost all the tournaments except an Olympic gold medal and All England title. Are these the next targets for the chief coach. ‘No, not at all,” says Gopichand.
“My target is to have at least 10 Indians in top-30 world rankings in every category like singles, doubles etc. If we have that many players they will keep winning regularly. Now the women’s team performed badly, but no one noticed because the men did well. Men were not up to the mark at the Olympics but no one noticed because women did well. So, if we have a number of players in the top rankings, titles will become a regular feature,” he said.