Pullela Gopichand does not smoke. |
It is not known if Pullela Gopichand drinks alcohol. |
He was introduced to badminton by his brother at the age of 10 after suffering from a sunstroke while playing cricket. |
At 13, he won singles and doubles titles in an inter-school competition after recovering from a ligament rupture. |
His mother sold her jewellery to buy him a racquet for playing badminton. |
Gopichand won his first National Championship title in 1989 in Goa. |
He clinched his first international singles title at the SAARC games in Vijayawada in 1996. |
From 1996 to 2000, he won the National Championship title consecutively for 5 years. |
In 2001, Pullela Gopichand became the second Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships. |
Facing difficulties, he mortgaged his house to establish the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad in 2003. |
Gopichand trained badminton stars like Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, and Srikanth Kidambi at his academy. |
He has received prestigious awards including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna, and Padma Shri Award. |
In 2011, his biography "The World Beneath His Feet" was released, authored by Sanjay Sharma and Shachi. |
Pullela Gopichand follows spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar from The Art of Living. |
His coaching efforts paid off when P.V. Sindhu won Silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016, becoming the first Indian badminton player to do so. |