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Indian badminton legend Pullela Gopichand had recieved backlash with many citing a handful names to prove atheltes can come from humble backgrounds.
Badminton legend Pullela Gopichand (PTI)
India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand had run into controversy with his recent comments, promting the him to issue a clarification on Saurday.
Pullela Gopichand had said in an interview with The Times of India that children in India not to pursue a career in sports only if their family is financially well-off.
“I advise parents not to put their children in sports. We are not in a position to offer sports as a career. Unless the children are from rich backgrounds or have a family business, it is not advisable for children to take up sport,” Gopichand was quoted as saying in an interview to TOI.
Indians refuted the legend’s view with a few examples of superstar atheletes who have done well despite comming from humble background.
In response, Gopichand wrote an article on The Indian Express to explain himself.
“Being in sports has been a long journey, and I’ve witnessed everything—from hardworking players to dedicated parents entering the sport, only to see the system fail to respond, Olympics after Olympics. I’ve always advocated that sport should be for everyone. Over the past decade, the number of people pursuing sports has increased, yet the opportunities to succeed at elite levels remain limited,” he wrote.
“I see players across various sports giving up their education to focus solely on sports. Look at someone like Tanisha Crasto (Top 30 in mixed doubles) or Treesa Jolly (Women’s Doubles Top 10); they are giving it their all. But when they come to me and ask, ‘Koi job hai?’ it saddens me. Treesa is a two-time All England semi-finalist, yet she still has to think, ‘I need a job.’ Jobs are rare and hard to come by, which means there’s something seriously wrong with the opportunities available. Even top players, like Lakshya Sen (Olympic semifinalist), only got a job a year and a half ago. Satwik and Chirag, former World No. 1s, had to win multiple titles before they were even considered for a job.”
“It’s difficult to witness. I work with players in training daily, and that’s when their struggles, insecurities, and self-doubts are most apparent. Year after year, parents across sports—friends of mine in shooting and wrestling—are committing their lives to supporting their children in sports, with great dedication. In chess, kids as young as eight or nine are dropping out of school to pursue the sport, hoping to ‘become something.’ But what are we really ‘becoming’? Not everyone can be Saina or Sindhu. There will always be players like Rituparna Das, Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Arundhati Pantwane, Anupama Upadhyaya, and even PVV Laxmi—talented and hardworking, but they didn’t make it big. Mithun Manjunath, a national champion, is now a junior clerk in Railways! We rarely think about them. Even sportspeople with jobs are humiliated, disrespected, and rarely advance in life,” he added.
