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It is no surprise that every Indian shuttler nowadays is a product of the Gopichand Badminton Academy. But India’s doubles superstar, Pranaav Chopra picked up the racket at the mere age of 7 in Ludhiana and only joined the famous Gopichand academy later in his career. Here is everything you should know about the Commonwealth Gold medallist Pranaav Chopra:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Pranaav Chopra |
| Age | 27 |
| Sport Category | Badminton |
| Date of Birth | 6 September 1992 |
| Hometown | Hyderabad, India |
| Height | 1.89 m |
| Weight | 82 kg |
| Coach | Pullela Gopichand, Tan Kim Her |
Pranaav was born on 6th September 1992 in Mullanpur Dakha in Ludhiana, Punjab. He picked up the racket for the first time at the mere age of 7. Young Pranaav started training at the Sutlej Club in Ludhiana with his father and with each passing day, started falling in love with the game. At the age of 10, he left the hometown to join a Badminton Academy in Mumbai where he worked with Uday Pawar.
Pranaav started bossing the age-group competitions from as early as his U13 days. In fact, the shuttler was the undisputed doubles national champion from U13 to U19. In the U19 category, Pranaav won a record 9 titles in just one year.
Pranaav made his international debut at the age of 15 during the 2007 Milo Junior Tournament in Bandang, Thailand. And it did not take the shuttler to shine at the international stage. He won the bronze medal in 2007 Berlin Badminton Open Tournament. But his first big break came a year later in Pune.
At the 2008 Youth Commonwealth Games held in Pune, Pranaav, paired with Sai Praneeth, won the bronze medal in boys’ doubles category. It was also around the same time when Pranaav joined the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. And from that moment onwards, there was no looking back for the youngster. He also won the 2010 Iran Fajr International with Sai Praneet.
In the past few years, India has created several singles superstars in the form of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, and many more. But Pranaav had made a name for himself in doubles and mixed doubles category, winning medals from a very early age all around the world.
At the 2009 Badminton Asian Junior Championship in Kwala Lampur, Pranaav won the bronze medal in the mixed doubles category with Prajakta Sawant. The shuttler also won the mixed doubles in 2010 and men’s doubles in 2013 at the National Games.
Akshay Dewalkar has been Pranaav’s partner in most of the men’s doubles tournaments. In fact, the duo has been quite successful at various competitions.
The team of Pranaav and Akshay won the 2011 Tata International Challenge, defeating a higher ranked pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas. They also won the silver medal at the 2011 Swiss International Challenge. In 2015, the due bagged two more medals, gold at the Bangladesh International and a silver at the Tata Open.
Pranaav was part of the Indian team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He won his all three games in the group stage and the quarterfinal against Canada. But the Indian team failed to win the semi-final against England and the bronze medal game against Singapore and had to settle on the fourth place.
He was once again the part of the Indian men’s team for the 2016 Asian Team Championship. India once again cruised through the group stage but lost the semi-final against Indonesia. The Indian team won the bronze medal, Pranaav’s first medal with the team.
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2016 was especially an exceptional year for Pranaav. Along with the bronze medal at the Asian Championship, Jerry won his first medals at the BWF Grand Prix and BWF Grand Prix Gold.
Pranaav made it to the final of the 2016 Syed Modi International, his first Grand Prix final. But the duo of Pranaav and Akshay lost to the Malaysian pair in the three-set game. It was Pranav’s first silver medal in the men’s doubles category and the only one so far.
But with his new mixed doubles partner, N. Sikki Reddy, Pranaav enjoyed success at various Grand Prix tournaments. In 2016 alone, the due won the Brasil and Russian Open and won the silver medal at the Scottish Open.
At the 2017 Syed Modi International, the team of Pranaav and Reddy defeated another Indian pair, B. Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa in the final to win their third gold medal together. The two also clinched the silver medal at the 2018 Hyderabad Open, Pranaav’s first medal at BWF World Tour.
But without a doubt, Pranaav’s most prized medal has to be the Gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. After missing out on the medal at the 2014 Asian Games and winning just the bronze medal at the 2016 Asian Championship, the Indian team finally broke the semi-finals shackles. Pranaav won every game he played in the competition and played a crucial role in India’s Gold medal.
| PERIOD | PLAYED | WON | LOST | BALANCE | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL | 188 | 97 | 91 | +6 | 16,568 |
| 2019 | 9 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 1,813 |
| PERIOD | PLAYED | WON | LOST | BALANCE | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL | 170 | 86 | 84 | +2 | 36,352 |
| 2019 | 21 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 7,565 |
Pranaav was born on 6th September 1992 in Mullanpur Dakha in Ludhiana, Punjab. His father, MK Chopra, played a big role in shaping his career. “He’s hooked to the game since his childhood, and we have been supporting him to pursue his passion. His achievements are a matter of pride for us as well as the city,” he once said in an interview.
Pranaav is married fellow mixed doubles partner Pradnya Gadre. The duo first met on a badminton court, and it was on the court itself that the shuttler proposed to Pradnya.
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