P.V.V. Lakshmi

P.V.V. Lakshmi is an 8 times Indian national champion^[3] in badminton and represented India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She is the wife of Pullela Gopichand.^[4]

Gopichand Badminton Academy

P.V.V. Lakshmi, was very supportive of Gopichand during the formation of Gopichand Badminton Academy and even contributed to the effort of securing monetary support.^[5] Despite other donations, Gopichand could only gather US$1.75 million. It was then they decided to mortgage his family home and raise the remaining money for the already delayed project. In 2008, the facility was eventually completed at the cost of US$2.5 million.^[6] Immediately after the construction, the Government of India sent the Commonwealth Games team to train at this facility. The government increased the daily rate they pay per player to US$20 for this special Games camp. This was a big jump from the US$5 daily fee per player that the government had previously paid for other training camps.^[6]

In 2008, they appealed to Bollywood, the Hindi cinema industry to become badminton's brand ambassador. They felt that by having a popular cinema icon supporting the sport will help popularize it.^[7]

Despite Saina Nehwal's success in international tournaments, Gopichand and Lakshmi found it hard to run the Academy. To run it at an optimal level, it requires US$300,000 a year. As of 2010, he was making do with US$100,000 to pay the training cost for 60 players and was holding off hiring more coaches.^[6]

Personal life

P.V.V. Lakshmi married fellow badminton player Gopichand on 5 June 2002.^[8] They have two children, a son named Vishnu and a daughter named Gayathri. Her daughter Gayathri, who is the elder of the two siblings, is the current U-13 National Badminton Champion. Her son Vishnu is currently training at Gopichand academy. After marriage, Gopichand concentrated on badminton academy and Lakshmi helped him. ^[9]

References