BENGALURU: After a disappointing Paris Olympics, PV Sindhu has a new coach, though temporarily, in former Olympian Anup Sridhar. The two-time Olympic medallist will work with the Karnataka man for the remainder of the year and the duo will sit down by the year-end to decide upon the future.
Sridhar came into the picture after Sindhu's coach Indonesian Agus Dwi Santoso's contract got over after the quadrennial event. The former international player was taken on board after a successful meeting with the star player and her team. For the last three weeks, the ace shuttler, who trained at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) before Paris, has been sweating it out for almost five hours daily under the watchful eyes of Sridhar at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. She has been involved in sparring sessions and fitness routines too. The current coaching team also includes former Korean shuttler Lee Hyun Il.
Sridhar is pleased with the way the new partnership has begun and is keen to work on different aspects of Sindhu's game in the coming weeks. "The start has been good so far. The first thing was to get her pain free, playing and moving freely on the court, which we have achieved. Now we're working on getting her speed and endurance levels up. There's a decent amount of improvement," Sridhar told TOI. "I have tried to devise training programmes and routines around the areas that she's finding a little bit difficult."
The last 21 months has not been great for Sindhu as she did not win a single BWF singles title. The task is now cut out for Sridhar as her results in the next three months could prove to be the difference between a long or short-term association with Sindhu. However, the Bengaluruean is looking beyond the results.
"The results are certainly important, but I wouldn't say it is the only important thing to look at. No miracles are going to be performed either by me or by anybody else, real change takes time. But I think this period is important from the point of view of how we work together, how we communicate. The working relationship will be important," he said.
To start with, Sindhu has marked two events for next month, the Arctic Open in Finland (Oct 8-13, Super 500), and Denmark Open in Odense (Oct 15-20, Super 750). "She's hungry to do well," said Sridhar.
South Korean Lee Hyun Il is Sindhu's consulting coach
NEW DELHI: PV Sindhu will have South Korean great Lee Hyun Il as her consulting coach on interim basis as she bolstered her coaching team ahead of her anticipated return to action next month.
