Published: March 14, 2026 at 3:26 pm
It is time again to raise a toast in honour of Hyderabad’s greatest sports icons, VVS Laxman and Pullela Gopichand. It was on March 11, 2001, that they scripted history with their phenomenal feats at Eden Gardens and Wembley (England) respectively. Laxman blazed away to a very, very special innings of 281 to topple the mighty Steve Waugh-led Australians while Gopichand pulled off a big heist by becoming the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to clinch the All England Open badminton title. But call it coincidence or sheer chance, they did it on the same day 25 years ago.
I remember myself and VV Subramanyam (The Hindu) were in Indore covering the Hyderabad-Madhya Pradesh Ranji Trophy match. Even as we were on the ground, we were closely following the India-Australia Eden Gardens Test. The previous evening, Hyderabad left-handed opener Daniel Manohar came near the reception hall of the hotel and said, “I have a feeling that Laxman will produce a very, very special innings.”
Hyderabad left-handed opener Daniel Manohar came near the reception hall of the hotel and said, “I have a feeling that Laxman will produce a very, very special innings.”
When Laxman and Rahul Dravid turned the tables on the Australians with that record stand, there was a joyous celebration in the Hyderabad dressing room.
Around the same time Gopichand was making waves at the All England Championship with his mesmerising game and that night it was a double celebration. The Hyderabad shuttler demolished China’s Chen Hong in the final. For me and Subramanyam it was a celebration of sorts as we both had been covering Gopichand and Laxman’s careers from a young age. We hugged each other and then waited to return to Hyderabad as we wanted to be at the victory celebrations.
Laxman flew to Chennai for the third Test, but we were in time at Hyderabad for Gopichand’s historic arrival from London. Led by the enthusiastic secretary LV Subramanyam, elaborate arrangements were made at Begumpet airport to receive the champion shuttler as winning the All England was as good as winning an Olympic medal or World Championship medal those days.
Gopichand never looked back after that title win
What I liked and is still fresh in my memory was when Gopichand saw me in the midst of big crowd, came near me and hugged me. It was a touching moment. “I have done it. Winning a major international title definitely makes a huge difference,” were his words. A few weeks before the All England championship, he told me that he had won five National Championship titles, but he was hardly recognised in the country. I told him that all this change as you will win the All England title.
Pullela Gopichand never looked back after that historic title as he grew in stature as a player and then as a coach
Gopichand never looked back after that historic title as he grew in stature as a player and then as a coach. He got a ticker-tape welcome and was taken in a procession to his Hyderguda residence. He told me then that the Art of Living with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had helped him a lot as he could concentrate on his game a lot. He also stressed that he put special effort on power, speed and endurance. “We Indians are good in skills but to succeed in international badminton a player has work on his physical fitness.”
On the twin historic performances of Gopichand and Laxman, I was asked to write a full-page article in New Indian Express Sunday magazine. Laxman too got a hero’s welcome on his return from the Chennai Test.
Laxman etched his name in the record books
Talking about the Eden Gardens Test, Laxman said then in an interview they were up against a tsunami. “We had an hour to go to stumps on Day 3. We were both in a stupor, the kind one goes into when faced with elements. And those words came to through the silence of Eden. I’d been pushed to No.3 (Rahul’s slot) and he was sent at No.6, my slot. I was near 80 when he came in and we told each to other we’d will be standing at the end of the day. We survived, ball by ball. Day Four was a bright morning and our first aim was to see off Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie with the new ball. He’d face one over and come to mid-pitch and say, “one more over”. As the overs ticked by, we improved our targets a bit and then we began to dominate the Australian attack. I was confidently driving leg spinner Shane Warne, on either side of the wicket,” Laxman said.
https://x.com/nibraz88cricket/status/2032756376087441654?s=20
Twenty-five years down the lane, the two heroic feats remain the joyous moments of Indian sport. It is all the more special for Hyderabad as both Gopichand and Laxman hailed from this city.
