Former All England badminton champion Pullela Gopi Chand got a shock of his life when he came to know that three of the five acres of land allotted to him by the previous Telugu Desam government in 2004 for a badminton academy would be taken away by the present government. 
According to the state sports department, since the three acres were not ‘properly utilised’ and the government wanted to set up a sports college in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics, they wanted the piece of land.
The order sent shock waves among the sports fraternity in Hyderabad. Gopi Chand made a hurried visit to Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy to present his case. The chief minister promised a review. Meanwhile, there was a sigh of relief for Gopi Chand when the High Court stayed the operation of the Government Order.
But the point is: why did the government suddenly remember this piece of land?
Gopi Chand, thanks to a funds crunch, has not been able to complete the academy on time. An indoor stadium has already come up with eight courts. The players have been practicing on the courts for the last one month or so. Gopi Chand had planned to build a swimming pool, a tennis court and other facilities in the remaining part of the land. 
“I wanted to make this academy world class so that international players could train here,” said Gopi Chand.
Gopi Chand, who is also chief national coach, admitted it is not easy to set up an academy. “It needs a lot of running to get a sponsor and the funds to start an academy. There are many hurdles,” he said.
Gopi Chand drew inspiration from the legendary Prakash Padukone, who set up an badminton academy in Bangalore. Padukone has been successful in running the academy and quite a number of trainees train there. 
In Hyderabad, Gopi Chand has already drawn quite a few trainees. Among them is the promising PV Sindhu, who has become the State women’s champion. 
The next few months will be a big test for Gopi Chand, who has to get things moving to make the academy more vibrant.