The Hindu BusinessLine: Gopichand Academy Teams Up with MapmyGenome to Get Players’ Genomes Mapped
Originally published in The Hindu BusinessLine, June 30. By M Somasekhar, Hyderabad.
At the Pullela Gopichand Academy — one of the top nurseries of Indian badminton in Hyderabad — emerging and existing stars are getting their ‘Genomepatras’. The objective is to work up their fitness — physical, mental, and emotional — to face the tough and competitive global arena via a better understanding of their genetics.
Making this possible is MapmyGenome, a personal genomics and molecular diagnostics company, in collaboration with the Academy. India’s recent crop of global players — including Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap, Sai Praneeth, Prannoy, and Kadambi Srikanth — are all trained by Pullela Gopichand (former All England champion) at the Academy.
Integrating Genomics into Sports Training
MapmyGenome and Gopichand Academy have created an athlete-oriented genetics report. As a pilot, some athletes were tested for genetic information and their personalised genetic report called ‘Genomepatri Fit’ was created. Following this, extensive genetic counselling sessions were held with the player, physical trainer, physio, and sports nutritionist — working with genetic experts to chart out lifestyle and dietary changes to reach optimum fitness and health levels.
“We feel it helps in optimising performance when added to the regular, rigorous training. It can help in improving reaction time on court, learning from mistakes, and selecting the best food based on genetic make-up. For example, if an athlete is found to be gluten intolerant, the correct and best food can be provided.” — Anu Acharya, CEO, MapmyGenome
“Leveraging genetic information for improving athletes’ performance is in very early stages. It is useful in athletics where event mapping can be easier through genetic information. Badminton being a very skill-oriented sport has seen a diverse set of top players with different genetic make-up.” — Amit Malik, Management Team, Gopichand Academy
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