Gopichand wins All-England Championships

Ashish Magotra

Pullela Gopichand reached badminton's pinnacle on Sunday.

The Indian won the Yonex All-England Badminton Championships with a masterful display of tactical badminton, backed by wonderful net-play and interspersed with superbly feigned smashes. He defeated Chen Hong of China, the 12th seed, 15-12, 15-6.

Gopi played in a manner that would have made his coach and mentor Prakash Padukone proud. Exactly 21 years ago, it was Padukone who became the first Indian to win the unofficial badminton world championship.

In the final, Gopichand started sluggishly. Maybe the occasion got to him and it was the Chinese who took the early lead. Down 7-11, Gopichand began showing the signs of the languid artistry that saw him beat world no 1 Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark in the semis and Olympic champion Ji Xinpeng in the pre-quarters.

Once Gopi found his touch, there was little that his Chinese opponent could do. With a fiercely patriotic Indian contingent egging him on, Gopi fought back. He took the first game 15-12 in 25 minutes.

There's a gentle, almost lazy elegance to the Indian's play. There are no high-leaping, blinding smashes in the 10th seeded Indian's armoury. But rather like his mentor, Prakash, he excelled at the net, dribbling with excellent control. His smashes were well-disguised.

At the start of the second game, it seemed as if Gopi had finally gained ascendancy. He took the first four points and seemed ready to run away with the championship.

But Chen fought back to level the scores. The game see-sawed from one end to another at this point. But then Gopi produced another brilliant sequence of shots close to the net to take five points in a row and make it 10-5. Gopi then took it to 13-5, and the trophy was nearly ready to return to India for only the second time in history. Chen won a point to make it 6-13.

But Gopi was not to be denied. And as a Hang floater landed long, Gopichand threw up his arms in triumph as his delirious coach Leroy D'Sa, a former India doubles player, ran on court to hug him.

Gopichand's parents told rediff.com, "We watched the match on television and it was very exciting. We haven't been able to speak to Gopi as yet and he hasn't been able to contact us either".

You may also want to read
It's a great achievement, says Padukone
Gopichand enters final
Gopichand enters semi-finals
Gopichand raises Indian hopes

INTERVIEW
'Today I am not afraid of any player on the circuit'