Experienced Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Santoso will be assisting the India’s singles badminton players, including Olympic silver-medallist P.V. Sindhu, from next month as they prepare for the Tokyo Games later this year.
Santoso comes in after the unceremonious exit of South Korea’s Kim Ji Hyun, who left abruptly last September after guiding Sindhu to an unprecedented World Championships gold.
Santoso has been roped in to guide the singles players — both men and women — ahead of the Games, scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Friday wrote to the authorities to grant visa to Santoso at the earliest after the Sports Ministry cleared his appointment on Wednesday.
Badminton Association of India secretary Ajay Singhania said the visa process has started and Santoso is likely to join the Indian team in the middle of next month.
“He is a very good coach and we hope to extend his contract till 2024 Olympics. If his performance is satisfactory then we will approach SAI again,” Singhania said.
