Saina Nehwal will return to her alma-mater the Gopichand Badminton Academy after it was decided that the two-time world championship medallist would work with Mulyo Handoyo
and other coaches in the national camp there.
The world number 12, who currently nursing a hamstring strain, tweeted her decision to return to Gopichand Academy on Monday stating that she was contemplating moving her base back to Hyderabad for quite sometime and was happy that Gopichand accepted her request.
Things have come a full circle for Nehwal who left the academy and shifted base to Bangalore to train with Vimal Kumar following her quarterfinal loss in the 2014 World Badminton Championship in Copenhagen, where compatriot PV Sindhu went on to bag her second bronze medal in the competition.
She went on to win the World Championship silver the following year, became the first Indian to be ranked world number one before a career-threatening knee injury put paid her hopes of making a mark in Rio Olympics last year.
The 27-year-old returned to the circuit in November 2016 but it was her bronze medal winning run in the World Championship in Glasgow last month that would have made the world stand up and take notice.
So despite the success, what made her think of changing her base again?
“In the past few months I had been thinking of moving back to Hyderabad which is also where my home is. I met Gopi sir during the world championship and, during one of our conversations, felt that it was probably time to act on the thought and I am happy that he also gave me a positive response,” Nehwal told The Field after a rehab session at the Gopichand Academy.
For the past three years, Nehwal had been shuttling between Hyderabad and Bangalore and she was hardly on talking terms with Gopichand for most of this period since leaving the academy.
But the two once again struck a chord at the World Championship with Nehwal and Sindhu posing for pictures with Gopichand and Vimal Kumar after the medals ceremony.
Nehwal was probably also impressed with the progress the fellow shuttlers had made under Mulyo and the team of coaches and that gave her the added motivation to try and return to Hyderabad and train at the Gopichand Academy.
Vimal Kumar also put out a statement saying Nehwal had discussed the issue with him after returning from Glasgow.
Saina on her return from the World Badminton Championships asked my opinion on her working with the Indonesian coach Mr Mulyo, brought in by Sports Authority Of India for looking after the singles players in National camps.
He is attached with Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. I had indicated to her that there is no harm at all in her giving it a try.
Players have a short span at the top and will always be looking at ways to get better. Saina and Sindhu are special girls and if they are able to get even better, we should provide them those opportunities.
— Vimal Kumar's statement on Saina Nehwal's decision to move back to Hyderabad
Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy and Gopichand Badminton Academy are recognised training centres of SAI and we at PPBA supported Saina when she needed.
My request is that the media must understand the situation and respect Saina’s decision.
When Nehwal shifted base to Bangalore in 2014, she needed a chance to get her career back on track and had admitted that she was looking for more personalised attention, which she got under Vimal Kumar.
While Sindhu was the only other star player at the Gopichand Academy then, the rise of men’s singles players means she will probably have to compete with even more players to get undivided attention of coaches during her training sessions.
Thankfully, the arrival of Mulyo and Heriawan has also ensured that Gopichand has a team of coaches that collectively plan and execute training sessions.
Nine-time national champion Aparna Popat, who has followed Nehwal’s journey from a teenager to the top of the world, felt that it was nice that the issues of the past have been sorted and the 27-year-old can now look forward to getting back to her best.
For the record, this is the second time that Nehwal and Gopichand have had a reconciliation. Their first fall-out happened soon after the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, with the former deciding to train with Bhaskar Babu at the National Camp in the same academy. They buried the hatchet a few months later and worked together to win India’s first badminton medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
This time around, the move back will most importantly bring Nehwal back to a familiar environment – one in which she fought her way to become one of the top players in the world. Surely, the new beginning shows that’s something she has on her mind too.
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