Pullela Gopichand is a former Indian badminton player. Pullela Gopichand was born on 16 November 1973 near Chirala Town in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh.
Pullela was coached by S. M. Arif before Prakash Padukone accepted him at Prakash Padukone academy. He also trained under Ganguly Prasad at the SAI Bangalore. Pullela won his first National Badminton Championship title in 1996, and went on to win the title five times in a row, until 2000.
Pullela Gopichand won two golds and one silver medal at the Indian National Games in 1998. He also won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second Indian to achieve this after Prakash Padukone.
Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team and runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy. He has mentored champions including the 2016 Rio Olympics Silver medalist, PV Sindhu and 2012 London Olympics Bronze medalist, Saina Nehwal, amongst others.
Pullela Gopichand has received both the Padma Shri in 2005 and the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award, in 2014.
