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Bai officials come out in the open against Gopi Chand

SportsBai officials come out in the open against Gopi Chand

Success brings about a lot of enemies. Chief badminton coach Pullela Gpoi Chand has produced two Olympic medaliists in Saina and Sindhu and is being seen as the main force behind India’s rise as a world power in badminton. The recent win over Indonesia in the Sudirman Cup in May this year is evidence of the giant strides India has made under coach Gopi. Yet, there are a group of officials who have been sharpening their knives and are trying to clip his powers in the Badminton Association of India (BAI).

A BAI official told the sports editor that Gopi’s increased clout and his domineering attitude have irked a certain section of the officials. “I can confirm to you that some of the senior officials are quite unhappy with the manner in which he is currently functioning. He seems to have the final word on just about everything—coaching, future schedules to the extent that he wants to micro manage all the activities within the BAI. This is not acceptable to us,” he said.

Another reason for the ire against Gopi is the fact that he wants to conduct all the trails and intensive coaching at his academy in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The BAI official said that this automatically meant a conflict of interests. “How can a chief conduct trials and selection process of the national team in his own academy? Does this not represent a conflict of interests when his own trainees are in the team? I think its in his own interest that Gopi should now move some of the selection trails out of the academy,” said the official.  

The fact that Jwala Gutta has virtually become a coach has also strengthened the hands of Gopi’s detractors. “Jwala was always opposed to Gopi during her playing days and has often revolted against him. Now, that she has taken to coaching the anti Gopi group in BAI is keen to promote her as a rival to Gopi. “ These officials have identified Jwala as a threat and contender to Gopi. Her crendentials as a player is quite good and now they want her to take up a senior coaching position in the BAI.  This is not going to help Indian badminton,” felt another former BAI official.

It is also reliably learnt that those against Gopi are some of the senior BAI officials. These officials have been there in the body for decades and have seen Gopi evolve as a world class player to even a better coach. ‘They seem to be threatened by his increasing stature and power within the BAI and have started the work to undermine him,” said a BAI official.

So long as Akhilesh Das Gupta remained the BAI president, he stood firmly behind Gopi. After his untimely demise a month back these officials have intensified their attacks and have come together to air their grievances against Gopi to the new BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma. The timing of this attacks against Gopi assumes importance as currently the executive committee meeting of the badminton body is going on and will conclude on Sunday in Bangalore.

These officials are going to take up the Gopi Chand issue in the executive committee meeting. “While they are not calling for any moves to oust Gopi, they are calling for his powers to be curtailed. For instance, they want the BAI to appoint a junior and doubles coach in a move to divest Gopi of his absolute powers,” said an BAI official.

It now remains to be seen whether the new BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma will back Gopi to the hilt as his predecessors have done or to come up with something drastic. 

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