New series 'The Academy' takes us inside Pullela Gopichand's badminton training center and is now streaming for free on Olympic Channel

Pullela Gopichand shot to fame in India when he clinched badminton's prestigious All England Open title in 2001.

But his success in the sport did not end with his retirement, in fact it is quite the contrary.

His Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad has churned out two Olympic medallists in Saina Nehwal, who clinched bronze at London 2012, and most recently PV Sindhu, who won silver at Rio 2016.

With the popularity of badminton on the rise in India, Olympic Channel's latest original series entitled 'The Academy: Forging India's Badminton Champions' takes us inside Gopichand's training center and gives us an insight into the coaching methods employed as well as the lives of its top athletes ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021.

How to watch and stream 'The Academy'

The series launched on 15th June 2021.

All 6 episodes are available to stream now, for free, on Olympic Channel, and via Olympics.com using the links below.

The Academy - Episode 1: Forging India’s Badminton Champions

While Gopichand enjoyed great success on court, his biggest achievements have arguably come as his tenure as the national coach for the Indian badminton team.

We head to Hyderabad, where the academy is based, to hear about champion-building dream and get some insight from other prominent players such as Saina Nehwal, Sai Praneeth, and Kidambi Srikanth.

The Academy - Episode 2: Youth Take Centre Stage

Gopichand has enjoyed plenty of success with the senior players on the world tour circuit and at major competitions. But in this episode we head behind the scenes and hang out with some of India's rising badminton talent.

Get to know some of the future stars currently training at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy.

The Academy - Episode 3: The Secrets to Enhance Strength and Endurance

Pullela Gopichand has identified that the traditional weakness in Indian sport is strength and endurance.

With that in mind, the Olympian has devised a training program that is aimed at improving this aspect amongst his players. Get a glimpse inside the formulas he has incorporated into his training regime to enhance the strength and endurance of the players.

The Academy - Episode 4: A Family Affair

The academy's success is not solely down to Gopichand's hard work and dedication.

In fact, his wife PVV Lakshmi who is an Olympian and former multiple national champion has been instrumental to the success of the academy. His father in particular, provided some of the financial support to kick-start transforming the idea of an academy into reality.

We head to Gopichand’s home as the family reflects on how far they have come and we meet with Pullela’s daughter Gayatri who is currently training at the academy.

The Academy - Episode 5: The Rise of the Doubles Players

India's success in badminton has mainly come from their singles players, but Gopichand is intent on changing that.

Under his coaching program, India's doubles players have gradually been rising up the rankings. In this episode, we hang out with the charismatic men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, as well as following the nation's top women's doubles player, Sikki Reddy, through rehabilitation.

The Academy - Episode 6: The Future of Indian Badminton

Gopichand's vision of creating a world-class badminton training center to India for the next generation has certainly paid dividends.

But never one to be content with his current achievements, in this episode we get a glimpse into the thinking of the 47-year-old who has already set his sights on the next generation.

We meet the latest batch of young students at the academy, some of whom wake up as early as 3am so they can travel to the training facility and to learn how to play elite badminton.

The Academy: Forging India's Badminton Champions is a great all access documentary series that offers insight into the lives of its top athletes ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021, and looks ahead to the next generation of badminton players from India.