When a budding 13-year-old taught Pullela Gopichand a lesson!

Pullela Gopichand is probably one of the most successful coaches in the country, but sometimes, even the best of teachers becomes the student. Speaking at an event in Mumbai recently, Gopichand recalled one of the best lessons he learnt from a 13-year-old student.

“I was training this young girl, and I threw a shuttle at her, expecting her to catch it and throw it back,” the chief national coach for the Indian badminton team said.



“She missed it. Again and again. I walked off after many attempts, thinking that I have 30 other children to concentrate on. After class, she came up to me and said, ‘Sir, teach me how to catch’. Even today when I think about it, I get teary. I learnt that sometimes the basics that are taken for granted need to be taught as well.”