Nagpur's Rohan to train at Gopichand Academy

NAGPUR: One of the brightest young shuttlers of the city, Rohan Gurbani, will soon join world-class Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy. The 12-year-old impressed former All-England champion Gopichand during the trials held last week in Hyderabad which paved the way for his selection in the elite academy.
Rohan will join the academy in Hyderabad from Monday.Rohan's father Ravi said Gopichand wanted his son to join the academy immediately after the trials. But Rohan couldn't do so as he was slated to participate in the state selection tournament in Ratnagiri.
"It's a dream come true for us that my son is getting an opportunity to train under Gopi Sir. Rohan is doing well in the last couple of seasons but after joining Gopi Academy, I am sure his improvement will be at a rapid pace," said Ravi Gurbani.
Gopichand said he is impressed by Rohan's game and would like to have him on board soon. "One of our academy coaches spotted Rohan during the All India sub-junior ranking tournament at Udipi last month. He suggested me to have a look at him. So I called his father and asked him to come to my academy for trials. Rohan has good strokes and good sense of the game. He also possesses substantial power in his strokes. He is a raw talent who can be moulded into a solid player. There are some areas in which he can improve a lot," Gopichand told TOI on Thursday.
The chief national coach said Rohan will train at Hyderabad for one month. "We will analyse his performance for a month. If I and my team are convinced that he has the potential to become good player, we will definitely like to retain him permanently," said Gopichand.
Three city players Arundhati Pantawane, Sarang Lakhanee and Rasika Raje are already training at Gopichand Academy. Rohan, who is currently training under Chetak Khedikar, is the reigning state champion in the U-13 boys singles. He has been excelling at the national-level too and had reached semifinals at Udipi last month.