[2] By the time he won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, Gopichand was already 27 years old and struggling with a few injuries.
With not many playing years left, Gopichand decided to bring a world-class training facility for the next generation.
Soon after his well-recognized win in England, the Government of Andhra Pradesh under the leadership of Nara Chandrababu Naidu awarded him 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land in 2003.
[5][6] In the following year, Gopichand formulated his plans for the academy and approached Nimmagadda Prasad, a distant relative and a serial entrepreneur, to raise money for this venture.
Since Prasad was convinced about Gopichand's idea, he immediately offered US$500,000 and his assistance in raising an additional amount of US$2 million.
With cricket being a more popular sport, Gopichand and Prasad found it hard to raise additional money from other sources.
[8] Despite Saina Nehwal's success in international tournaments, Gopichand found it hard to run the Academy.