‘I don’t have any differences with Gopichand. Everything is fine between us,’ clarifies PV Sindhu on her decision to practice at the Gachibowli indoor stadium
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PV Sindhu
India’s shuttler PV Sindhu has made the headlines after she decided to move out from Gopichand Academy and train at Gachibowli Stadium. Speculations are berserk, with masses thinking that the two have drifted away, following some unpleasant to a rift with Pullela Gopichand.
Despite clear statements from Sindhu’s father PV Ramana, stating that the change in Sindhu’s training place was only due to psychological reasons and not due to a rift with Pullela Gopichand, still have rumours been mongering over the same. People are continually eyeing this as the distortion of things between the two.
To ensure complete transparency of the situation, the Olympic Games silver medalist PV Sindhu clarified things in an exclusive interview with TOI. She spoke of her equation with chief national coach Pullela Gopichand. She even deliberated that her decision to shift her practice base from the Gopichand academy to Gachibowli badminton halls is entirely concerning Tokyo Olympics’ focus and not any fissures with Gopichand.
Sindhu ‘upset and hurt’ with media coverage of this incident
“I’ll be practising at the Gachibowli indoor stadium with my South Korean coach Park Tae Sang till the Tokyo Olympics and not at the Gopichand academy. Having said that, nothing much should be read between my decision to train at the indoor badminton halls.
“There shouldn’t be any comparison between the facilities available at the two venues. I had requested the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for the same and the permission was granted to me. I have heard that the doubles players would also be training at the Gachibowli for the Olympics,” Sindhu informed.
“The indoor arena size is of international standards. It’s similar to that of the badminton venue at the Tokyo Olympics and what we generally experience during international tournaments. It’s important to understand the familiarity of the venue and stimulate such conditions at home.
“Also, the AC blowers are a major factor for ‘drift’ inside the playing venue. Getting used to the drift because of the effect blowers will have on the shuttlecock will help us at the Olympics. Most of the academies in Hyderabad don’t have the blowers, so we miss understanding the drift. Here, at the Gachibowli indoor arena, you can master the drift factor,” she explained.
No rift with coach Gopichand
“I don’t have any differences with Gopichand. Everything is fine between us.”
As per TOI, it was on Gopichand’s request that the Gachibowli badminton halls were made available for practice to national camp players preparing for the Olympics and qualification tournaments.
A letter dated February 12 from the Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) granting the permission for the same to Gopichand is in TOI’s possession.
Gopichand told TOI: “I thank the Telangana government for allotting the Gachibowli badminton courts for training of top national players who are preparing for the Olympic qualification tournaments and Olympics. This will help the players train inside a large facility to get used to the Olympic venue.”
PV Sindhu had clinched a silver medal in The Rio Olympics in 2016 and was the gold medalist in 2019 World Championship.
Also read: PV Sindhu to move out from Gopichand Academy and train at Gachibowli Stadium
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Sahil Sethi
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