Pullela Gopichand, India’s chief national coach, is shaping his daughter Gayatri Gopichand’s career in the badminton ecosystem but has advised parents against it if they’re not rich.
“I advise parents not to put their children in sports. We are not in a position to offer sports as a career. Unless the children are from rich backgrounds or have a family business, it is not advisable for children to take up sport,” Gopichand said in an interview with TOI.
The Dronacharya awardee played a pivotal role in building Olympic medalists like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu.
The National Games, Khelo India, and Khelo India Winter Games, besides organizations like GoSports Foundation and Olympic Gold Quest, Baseline Ventures, and IOS Sports & Entertainment have been supporting the grassroots and elite-level athletes in their sporting journey.
“The reality of sport is that less than 1% of people who take up sport end up having it as a profession or career,” he says. “In sports like cricket, this number could be marginally better, but in essence sport would mean that a very small percentage of them make it. Where do we end up? What are the returns of the people who have made it?,” Gopichand adds.
He believes that Olympians are not treated fairly in the society.
“Olympic medallists who work in the Railways, RBI, Income Tax, police or a PSU have a lower rank than a civil servant who gets to reap benefits of his learning till the age of 60. The Olympic medallist who has burned himself out, will have to call the civil servant ‘sir’ or ‘madam’. They are at the mercy of the officer, hoping they will have people who will respect sportspersons who won medals for the country. And you may also find a boss with a negative mindset towards sportspersons,” he said.
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