Mother’s Day | She is the real star: P. Gopi Chand

"She’s always been the biggest support especially at times when I low or I was complacent. It was her desire that pushed me," the badminton star and national coach says about his mother.

Pullela Gopichand's mother.

My mom means the world to me. She is a huge inspiration and motivates me. A person who pushed me to greater heights. She’s always been the biggest support especially at times when I low or I was complacent. It was her desire that pushed me.

I remember the time when I won the All England Championship (in 2001), I called up her in the night to ask her, “Are you happy now?” Because she was the kind of woman who would never be happy. When I had won the state championship, she had wanted more. When I had won the nationals, she had wanted more. Well, she always wanted more – that really propelled me to heights of excellence in whatever challenge I accepted.

For me, she is the real star.

As told to V. V. Subrahmanyam.