12 December,2011 07:19 AM IST | | Sundari Iyer
Pullela Gopi Chand has achieved a lot in life. But it is through badminton that he has achieved most of it and so his life revolves around the sport. His biography, Pullela Gopi Chand: The World Beneath His Feat, is a gritty story about his journey to stardom.
P Gopi Chand
The book, written by father-daughter duo of Sanjay and Shachi Sharma, is about how Gopi Chand, who made India proud by winning the coveted All England Championships in 2001, was not sure whether he would step onto the court again in 1994. At the National Games in Pune in 1994, he suffered a career-threatening knee injury.
"I wanted the book to reflect on many facets of Gopi -- the badminton player and his journey till date. My injury made me sad, but all I knew then was to play badminton. "When people started writing me off, I cut myself off from everybody and trained hard. Winning All England was emotional. I want to reinstate the same confidence in aspiring shuttlers that If I can do it, anybody can," said Gopi Chand at the book release function.
Gopi Chand's star student Saina Nehwal, who has written the foreword of the book, got emotional during the release.
"Gopi Sir has gone through tough times since he was 19. I am in awe of his never-say-die spirit. I am really lucky to have him as coach. I want to make him proud by winning more titles,"u00a0 Saina said.
