India notebook - The rise and rise of Gopichand

The euphoria over the performance of Pulella Gopichand in the All England Badminton Championship is understandable.

India does not have many sporting heroes and if and when one does arrive, the reception is of understandable magnitude, perhaps overdone but acceptable under the circumstances.

Gopichand's march towards the title, the manner of his progress and the heads that rolled in front of him in the All England is a culmination of a career which took the first steps towards greatness in an international tournament in Delhi four years ago.

Gopichand then reached the final of the tournament in great style. He had then showed that unlike most other Indians he had the stamina to pull back after being a game down. Every match of his in that tournament had been an extended affair.

Since then he has overcome a knee problem, a couple of reverses on the international stage before climbing the ratings ladder. Placed sixth at the beginning of the year he had lost some positions and was seeded tenth among a galaxy of internationals at the All England.

He made a mockery of the seedings committee once he crossed into the pre-quarter-finals where he stunned the reigning Olympic Champion Ji Xinpeng of China. This was his main hurdles for Xinpeng has often been heralded as one of the most difficult players to beat on the circuit.

Gopichand thrashed him in straight games to put all doubts at rest. This was Gopichands third victory over Ji Xenping. It was also the third time that he had overcome an Olympic champion. What has helped Gopichand is the international exposure he has received in the past two years while stationed in Europe with Denmark as the base.

What does his All England win means for India?. The Badminton Association could for instance use this opportunity to sell Gopichand, just as it did Prakash Padukone in the mid-eighties. The BAI could revive the Masters Tournaments and the popular Nehru Tournament which saw some many a big name in the sport in action in Delhi and elsewhere.

Former football captains are lamenting their status. Two of them, Bruno Coutinho and Basudev Mondal, are not sure where exactly did they err. Basudev Mondal was the captain of the Indian team in the Sahara Millennium Cup held in January where Bruno Coutinho, a former captain, was his teammate.

Both of them find themselves unwanted in the new set up under national coach Sukhwinder Singh who replaced Islam Ahmedev, the Uzbek Coach after the Millenium fiasco.

Islam was happy with both Coutinho and Mondal. Though India expectedly lost in the preliminaries of the Millennium, it would be unfair to blame either the coach or the two players concerned.

But the All India Football Federation chose to recall Sukhwinder Singh whose own team, JCT Mills, Phagwara, is lying at the bottom of the table in the National League, to look after the national side for the Pre-World Cup camp starting in Bangalore from March 25. While Coutinhos niggling injury in the left-foot could be held against inclusion in the camp, the omission of Basudev Mondal from the camp is shocking.

Unmindful of his own problems, Bruno Coutinho is very sympathetic to Mondal. "It is a big blow for him(Mondal). He was captain of the Millennium Cup side and should have at least been called for the camp. I feel sorry for him."

Abhinav Bindra, India's young shooting star was in Delhi recently after having won 12 medals, including six gold four silver and two bronze on the European circuit. He was pleased with his stint at the German shooting Academy.

The youngster became the youngest ever Indian participant in the Olympics, having reached the finals, derived satisfaction from his two wins over the Sydney Olympic gold medallist Raymond Debuel of Slovenia also set a world record in the 10 metres air rifle event in Luxembourg.

This will not go into the record books as the world body ratifies only marks achieved in World Cups, Olympics or continental meets. Bindras main problem is a lack of a regular coach. The departure of Laszlo Sczucak, who is currently training the Japanese, has dealt a severe blow to him and other Indian shooters.