he watching top players play live and see them battle it out against each other that gives them a lot of kick definitely and this time we have the chinese players who are very good and are tough opponents their energy is enviableas a coach gopi says the best thing for budding badminton players in the city is to make the most of the opportunity that they have been provided in the form of a badminton academy and stadium what they have here is very very good and its very important that they benefit from it and absorb it as much and with that also believe that results will come out if they are prepared to work hardcoming to his personal life we wonder why gopi is hardly seen or heard apart from at badminton tournaments thats because i have jobs to do and i work on my sports my coaching and my study quite a lot so anytime i come out i find it more like a distraction than entertainment i work long hours so theres no time to party he repliesin those rare moments away from the court one will usually find gopi with a pair of headphones on listening to ms subbalakshmis vishnu sahastranam i love listening to classical music my favourites are ms subbalakshmi balamurli krishna pandit bhimsen joshi frankly i have grown as a player with this music i have benefited from listening to their music from a sports perspective for an inside growth because ive used them as tools of meditation as tools for concentration and relaxation its not just fun and entertainment for me when i used to play i used to feel so much at peace by listening to classical music thats how i got hooked to it in the first placeand just like his music gopis taste in books veers away from the popular i am more of a nonfiction guy i prefer books on spirituality diet sports psychology or even physiology thats what interests me but my reading and my listening to music has gone down quite a bit its now confined mostly to travel when you are a player you have the luxury of time because you only practice and you have time to rest and for recreation but now there are so many players to coach and when i get time and am off the court theres family my wife my kids and parents we all stay together now i dont have that same luxury as i did when i was a player but im not complaining i am enjoying what i do i love playing with my kids i have fun at home also i have lots of fun at the academy because i have so many kids who are working really hard and its very challenging because they are pushing beyond their limits to be the best says gopi adding another reason ive had to give up my hobbies is that i have a 10yearold daughter