PV Sindhu has requested the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Badminton Association of India (BAI) to assign former All-England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim as her coach until the 2024 Paris Olympics.
PV Sindhu has requested the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Badminton Association of India (BAI) to assign former All-England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim as her coach until the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two-time Olympic medallist sent a letter to the authorities on Monday asking the Malaysian to be appointed as her coach under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). She has been verbally assured that her request will be granted. Sindhu, 27, has been training with Hashim for the past two weeks at the Suchitra Badminton Academy (SBA) and the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.
Sindhu entered the international circuit at the young age of 14 in the year 2009. But she soon won hearts in the badminton circuit. Sindhu went on to compete at the All England Open Championships as a qualifier. She reached the main draw but lost to Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-Ying in 3 games. In 2012, she won the Asian Junior Championships becoming India’s first-ever Asian Junior Champion. However, she has notched up bronze medals in the 2014 and 2022 Asian Championships. Sindhu has a fabulous career graph in the Commonwealth Games as well. She has won a Bronze medal in Glasglow (2014). Apart from it she also has two silver and two gold medals in Birmingham (2022) and Gold Coast (2018). Added to this, Sindhu also has notched up significant performances in Uber Cup. Sindhu won bronze in 2014 (India) and 2016 (China).
However, the most bittersweet memory of the 27-year-old will be her heroics at the Olympics. Sindhu has been amidst the Olympic fray on two occasions in the past. Unfortunately, the Indian shuttler has not been able to cross the final hurdle on both occasions. During the Rio 2016 Olympics, Sindhu was pitted against Carolina Marin of Spain. In the epic battle, the Spaniard had the final laugh at the end of the third set. Although she lost the finals, yet she fought like a tigress on the court.
Going into Tokyo, she was again face to face against the then World no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan. The match was the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Again, the match went down to the wire. However, like in Rio, she lost again in the end. Nevertheless, Sindhu was able to win back the bronze medal from Chinese player He Bingjao. Paris 2024 will be her third attempt at winning the coveted gold medal.
Read more: Who will represent India in Badminton at the Asian Games 2023?
Hafiz, who was previously attached to the Malaysian national junior squad, said: “As a coach, this is what I want. It is a big step forward in my career, and I’m very proud.” Talking about her experience with Sindhu, Hafiz said, “I have worked with Sindhu before this because she is also part of Suchitra Badminton Academy. The only difference is now she wants me to be her full-time coach. Once we get the clearance from SAI, we will train at Suchitra twice a week, and then the remaining sessions will be at the Gachibowli Stadium, which is just 40 minutes away from where we are.” Hafiz has also commented on Sindhu’s professionalism, “Sindhu is a high-level professional. She is very disciplined and committed, and these qualities make it easier to work with her.”
The 40-year-old former All-England winner will travel with PV Sindhu during the Korea Open and Japan Open. Now only time will tell the results of this massive revamp in the coaching guidance of Sindhu.
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