India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence.
India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence, Karnataka on the occasion of its second convocation. Gopichand, along with four other eminent Indians, were bestowed with the honour by President Draupadi Murmu on Monday for their contribution to nation-building.
The other four eminent Indians were from the fields of music and art, healthcare, education and social service. From the field of music and art it was the renowned Carnatic music vocalist Ganakalabhushana Vidwan Dr. R.K. Padmanabha. Dr. Pratima Murthy who is the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences got it from the field of healthcare. In the field of education the awardee was, Vedic Scholar and Padma Sri Awardee Prof. Vijay Shankar Shukla who is the academic advisor for Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts for Education. Finally from the field of social service it was Padma Shri Awardee Tulsi Gowda, the renowned Indian Environmentalist.
Pullela Gopichand is a former Indian badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second Indian to achieve this feat after Prakash Padukone. Gopichand is at the helm of affairs for Gopichand Badminton Academy which has produced many outstanding national talents over the years. He received the Arjuna Award in 1999, the Dronacharya Award in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan – India’s third highest civilian award – in 2014.
Pullela won his first National Badminton Championship title in 1996, and went on to win the title five times in a row, until 2000. He won two gold medals and one silver medal at the Indian national games, 1998, held at Imphal. At the international level, he represented India in 3 Thomas Cup tournaments. In 1996, he won a gold in the SAARC badminton tournament at Vijayawada and defended his crown in the next games held at Colombo in 1997. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games, he won a silver in the team event and a bronze in men’s singles. The greatest achievement in Gopichand’s career came in 2001 when he won the prestigious All-England Open. He defeated then world number one Peter Gade in the semi-finals before defeating Chen Hong of China to lift the trophy.
Pullela was exhilarated beyond words after being felicitated with the honorary doctorate. He said, “It was a great honour to be recognised and conferred with an honorary doctorate at the hands of the Hon’ble President of India Smt. Draupadi Murmu, along with four other eminent Indians.”
Pullela added, “Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence in Karnataka provides totally free education to first-generation literates. The Hon’ble President rose to the highest office, fighting all odds and socio-economic challenges. Her life story is an inspiration for all of us and all the graduating students of this university.”
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