MUMBAI, Nov 13: Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Wednesday said the reason he continues to coach is that the players need him and there is still no succession plan in place.
�Well, to be honest, the reason why I continue to coach and I am obsessed about it is also because I haven�t had... I don�t see the succession plan come by so easily, it is been tough,� said Gopichand.
�I wish, now... to be honest, I feel it like a burden and a responsibility, I can�t let go the kind of (performance) we have achieved and the players need me and that becomes a burden internally.�
He was addressing a seminar �EDGE 20190 on the theme �The Power of One� organised by EdelGive Foundation.
Gopichand has produced Olympic medallists including Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu.
�So in the last few years, I was silently talking to people, in the last few months I have been talking to the press a little loudly about the need for coach education, need for coaches to be empowered and a system to be in place. It is my selfish desire to rest and relax,� he added.
The image of a �calm and composed� Gopichand sitting courtside during matches is quite familiar and he revealed that he never intends to put additional pressure on shuttlers when they are already under pressure.
�When I am sitting behind the player, I consciously think that my pressure should not add to the player�s pressure, he is already in a pressure cooker, so you don�t want to add a little more to that pressure,� he said. � PTI
