“Lowest was between the years 1980-90, badminton didn’t win a medal. And in ’94, in Canada, the Indian team wasn’t sent to the Commonwealth Games because the team didn’t meet the standards. Highest (level) of the sport was in 2022 when India won the Davis Cup,” Pullela Gopichand said.
“The problem about being on a public platform is that I can’t reveal all the truths. I will keep the honest answers for the in-rooms of BAI and SAI. Sport has grown huge; the influx has ensured the systemic changes needed. The system has to come together, the tank is filled with talent, the tap and the pipeline has to be cleaned to ensure the inflow,” Gopichand on why India isn’t yielding medals.
“Rio Olympics was the highest of my life. India wasn’t getting any medals, and I got the breakthrough. Lowest was when I left wrestling in 2023 when we were protesting against sexual harassment, my career was over. We slept on the road for 40 days and no hearing was done. I thought I couldn’t continue wrestling in an environment like that.” Sakshi Malik noted.
“My highest when I won the gold medal in the chess Olympiad in 1999, and when I got the grandmaster title.” Dibyendu Barua observed.
“I don’t know which title to pick as my highest, I like them all, 2007 was special. The lowest was in 2013,” Viswanathan Anand said. “India is at the top, but not all the players. We have 3 at the top and the oldest is 20. That means India can enjoy watching Chess for the next 20 years. The situation isn’t the same for the women players, we need to do more to get the level up. There’s so much capacity and potential to grow. There’s a lot to work for.” Anand on the future of Indian Chess.
Moderated by Prantik Mazumdar and Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
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