Indian coaches need more freedom to groom doubles: Gopichand

Not having a formidable second doubles pair after Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa essentially cost India a place in the Uber Cup final and chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand admits that a "lot of work needs to done" in the area

New Delhi: Not having a formidable second doubles pair after Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa essentially cost India a place in the Uber Cup final and chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand admits that a "lot of work needs to done" in the area.


Pullela Gopichand 

Though India performed beyond expectations to reach the semi-finals of the World Women's Team Championship to secure their historic and maiden bronze medal, they lost the last four clash to Japan 2-3 despite being 2-0 up.

"There is a lot of work which needs to be done on the doubles front. We can only develop players once they come to a certain level. In India, we don't have the same amount of freedom the foreign coaches have," said Gopichand.

The former All-England champion said Indian coaches don't have the same kind of authority foreign coaches have for grooming doubles pair.

"We can produce singles players individually but in doubles you need a lot of grooming and for that you need a lot of freedom as a coach.

"Also, till the age of 19 there is no specialisation," said the Padma Bhushan awardee.

"We need tougher laws so if someone is selected for doubles he/she can only play doubles and if you are selected for singles, you will only play singles. But that kind of authority is not there. We're too democratic."

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!