Gopi Chand elated

NEW DELHI, AUG. 3. ``It is an honour to be counted among the top sportspersons of the country,'' was how an elated P. Gopi Chand reacted on hearing the news of his nomination for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on Thursday night.

Speaking to The Hindu from Jakarta, the All England badminton champion was quick to acknowledge his family members, coaches and well-wishers for all the support.

``I owe it to all those who stood by me and believed in my abilities,'' said Gopi, with his humility intact, and continued, ``it also brings in an added responsibility of doing even better in times to come.''

Gopi was an obvious choice for the highest sports award in the country after he became the second Indian to claim the most prestigeous title in badminton in March this year. ``In totality, I guess, it is an honour for the entire badminton fraternity,'' said Gopi while describing the significance of the award. Gopi's joy increased manifold when told of the Dronacharya Award for his mentor Mr. S. M. Arif and Arjuna Award to friend, George Thomas.

Gopi, a semifinalist in the recently-concluded Indonesian Open, has stayed back for a week in Jakarta to train for the World Grand Prix finals beginning in Brunei next week.

On his recent showings and form, Gopi said, ``considering that I had twisted my ankle (on the eve of the inter-unit petroleum meet in Pune) before leaving for the Malaysian and Indonesian Opens, I was somewhat satisfied to reach the quarterfinals then the semifinals in two weeks. But I have identified certain areas where I can improve.'' On his apparent struggle in the new seven- point format, Gopi said, ``it will take all of us some time to get used to it. Just take the case of Ong Ewe Hock (who won the Malaysian Open title). After failing to win a single title in five years, he came from nowhere to retain the Malaysian title. Take (Rony) Augustino's case. This guy reached the final of the Malaysian Open but lost in the first round of the Indonesian Open. So, you'll see a lot of surprise results.''

Looking ahead, Gopi said he would be playing the Singapore Open and then the Asian Badminton Championship in Manila before returning to New Delhi, perhaps on August 28.

- Our Special Correspondent

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