EP-268 | The DARK TRUTH About a Sports Career – No One Tells You This! | Pullela Gopichand

Pullela Gopichand is the second Indian to win the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championship (2001). A former Olympian, he coached Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to Olympic success. Honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1999, Gopichand is often called the ‘Dronacharya of Indian Badminton.’ Since 2004, he has been running an academy in Hyderabad, where players like Srikanth Kidambi, Parupalli Kashyap, H.S. Prannoy, Sai Praneeth, and Sameer Verma have trained and brought glory to India. In this episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Gopichand addresses the controversy around his remark that "only the rich should play sports." He clarifies that his concern is about the lack of support for athletes after retirement. He points out that while one in a hundred may reach the top, the rest need a safety net. He also talks about how the government can do more to support athletes, the evolution of sports in India, and what it takes to create champions. He also discusses the impact of social media trolling on athletes’ mental health and the reality behind sports quota jobs. #anipodcastwithsmitaprakash #pullelagopichand #sports #podcast Join ANI's YouTube membership to get access to perks:    / @aninewsindia   Subscribe now and press the bell icon 🔔 to get new video updates: https://bit.ly/2UV4ygi Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming Up 01:52 - Introduction 02:41 - ‘Sports are for the Rich’ Controversy 09:57 - Securing an Athlete’s Future 15:36 - Post-Career Support for Athletes 21:46 - Wealth Disparity in Sports 27:19 - Government’s Role in Athlete Welfare 27:41 - Struggles of Athletes 29:56 - From Badminton Player to Coach 38:34 - How Sports Have Evolved 42:42 - Best Sports Choices for Kids 46:03 - Coaching Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu 50:00 - Bias in Coaching 55:08 - Dealing with Social Media Trolling 56:50 - An Athlete’s Diet: What It Takes 01:00:03 - Southeast Asian vs. European Players 01:03:17 - PM’s Role in Sports Development 01:04:40 - Sports Career Options: Then vs. Now 01:09:11 - Sports Quota Jobs -------------------------------------- ANI is South Asia's leading Multimedia News Agency providing content for every information platform, including TV, Internet, broadband, newspapers, and mobiles. Subscribe now! Enjoy and stay connected with us!! ☛ Subscribe to ANI News YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2UV4ygi ☛ Visit our Official website: https://www.aninews.in/ ☛ Follow ANI:   / ani   ☛ Like us:   / aninews.in   ☛ Email to: [email protected], [email protected] ☛ Copyrights © All Rights Reserved ANI Media Pvt Ltd.