Childhood chum throws weight behind VVS

Mon, May 12 12:35 AM

Public response to the Hyderabad team may have been lukewarm, but the city's iconic badminton star is supporting the beleaguered side, following them closely and enjoying the competition. Pullela Gopichand is a busy man.

The proactive coach of the national teams runs camps here and works overtime on his residential academy that is expected to be functional in two months. He takes interest in the IPL because he likes the format.

"It's short, entertaining and active," Gopichand told HT on Sunday. "Though I've always followed the other formats, they appear to be dull in the days of T20.

They would take up a whole day at least and I think the popularity of this one will only increase." "Apart from the time factor, it also attracts me because the format means there is more scope for heroics.

The possibility of the game changing is more. Lots can happen in two overs, things may start looking completely different.

In the longer formats, we often go through the motions knowing what's going to happen." A friend of V.

V.S.

Laxman from the teenage days when they trained together at the Lal Bahadur Stadium, Gopichand visited the new stadium when Hyderabad played their first home match. "But I have been watching, even today I will," said the 2001 All England champion.

Gopichand is not too perturbed by the dismal run of Laxman's team. "I continue to support the team, just like I do when the Hyderabad Ranji Trophy team plays.

As far as defeats go, I can live with it. It's just a sport and being a fan, these things don't matter too much.

" The former player, who, in his heydays turned down a big offer to endorse a brand of soft drink because he found it was harmful for sportspersons, wasn't complaining about the manic popularity of cricket in the country. "There is an element of truth that other sports are suffering because of cricket's popularity but given our population, it's possible for other sports to produce something good.

It's not that corporate houses are not interested beyond cricket. It's not great, but positive nonetheless.

" Maybe there is a lesson for the cricketers, who despite being rewarded with good sums after some cribbing, have slipped performance-wise. On the other hand, Gopichand, has been working silently.

Apart from his near-complete academy, Chetan Anand's second-place finish in the Indian Open shows that where there's a will, there's a way.

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