Country India Height 1.7 m | Handedness Right | |
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Residence Hyderabad, Telangana, India Spouse Pullela Gopichand (m. 2002) Children Gayatri Gopichand, Sai Vishnu Gopichand Similar Pullela Gopichand, Aparna Popat, Prakash Padukone Born 8 November 1974 (age 49) Vijayawada, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur (Bronze medal) | ||
P.V.V. Lakshmi is an 8 times Indian national champion in Badminton and represented India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She is the wife of Pullela Gopichand.
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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. 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. 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.
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.
Despite Saina Nehwal's achievements in global competitions, Gopichand and Lakshmi faced difficulties in operating the Academy efficiently. To maintain the Academy at an ideal operational level, an annual budget of US$300,000 is necessary. By 2010, they managed to operate on a budget of US$100,000, which covered the training expenses for 60 players, though it constrained them from expanding their coaching staff.
Personal life
P.V.V. Lakshmi married fellow badminton player Gopichand on 5 June 2002. 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.
