Pullela Gopichand (born on November 16, 1973 in Nalgonda, Andhra Pradesh) is an Indian Badminton player.
He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001 defeating Chen Hong of China in the finals by 15-12,15-6. He became the second Indian to achieve this feat after Prakash Padukone, who won it in 1980. He was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2000-2001. But later on, his game was affected due to injuries and his ranking dropped to 126 in the year 2003. In the year 2002, he refused to endorse a soft drink major as it meant that he would be encouraging people to consume a product which he himself thought was unsafe. In 2005, he was awarded the Padma Shri.
Now, he runs the Pullela Gopichand badminton academy. He is now a very renowned coach who is the main force behind the emergence of new star in Indian Badminton Saina Nehwal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullela_Gopichand
Very humble, mature character, young but promising figure for India. Has very friendly relationship with BK as their neighbour at Gachi Bowli, fluent in english and good articulation.
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