PV Sindhu’s achievements under her former coaches

PV Sindhu is India’s one of most renowned sportspersons. She inspires millions of young girls to chase their dreams. She is an icon, and a champion. However, the two-time Olympic medalist and multiple World championships medalist didn’t become a champion overnight. Years of practice, discipline, laborious work, and perseverance are required before a champion is born. The champion also requires a partner to assist them to go from being a ‘raw material’ to a ‘finished product.’ This is where the role of a coach comes into the picture who plays a huge role in shaping a champion and directing them in the proper direction. We will now take a look at the coaches who had an instrumental role in PV Sindhu’s career.

Under Mahboob Ali

PV Sindhu‘s career began in Secunderabad at the Mir Mahboob Ali Badminton Academy in the Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET) stadium. Mahboob Ali, the late coach, gave PV Sindhu her first badminton lessons. Her parents recognized their daughter’s passion for the sport and enrolled her in her initial formal training. He also coached the Hyderabad-born star shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Shruti Kurien, and Gutta Jwala. Mahboob never asked the parents for money whose children he coached which made him different from the rest of the coaches. Mahboob Ali, a junior national medalist himself, taught PV Sindhu all the traits of a champion athlete from an early age.

Under Pullela Gopichand

It was under Pullela Gopichand, PV Sindhu started to flourish. Gopichand played an integral role in the growth of Sindhu from being an aspiring athlete to an ace shuttler. However, the journey wasn’t easy. Sindhu and her father had to wake up at 3:30 a.m. and rush to the academy in the beginning. The efforts quickly paid off, as the Sindhu-Gopichand team started to rule national championships at the sub-junior and junior levels. Sindhu won multiple sub-junior national competitions as well as the under-10 and under-13 age divisions of the all-India ranking events. Sindhu made her senior debut at the India Open in 2009 while still competing at the junior level. 

While PV Sindhu was barely 15 years old, she won the 2011 Maldives International Challenge, earning her first victory in a senior competition. However, this was just the beginning as she continued to collect medals in the international circuit. She went on to win bronze medals at the BWF World Championships in 2013 and 2014. At the Commonwealth Games 2014, she won her first medal in the form of bronze with a win over Tee Jing Yi by 23-21, 21-9. But, the Sindhu-Gopichand pair now had their eyes set on even bigger things.

Gopichand eliminated carbohydrates from his diet three to four months prior to Rio Olympics 2016 to assist PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth in their sparring sessions. He wanted to stay in shape so that he could be a good training partner for both shuttlers. The then 21-year-old shuttler was prohibited from eating her favorite foods which were Hyderabadi biryani and chocolates. Gopi prevented them from consuming any outside food or water. All the hard work done by Sindhu and Gopi paid off as Sindhu went on to become the first Indian woman athlete to win a silver at the stage of the Olympics. 

Under Gopi’s guidance, Sindhu brought more laurels to the country by winning silver medals at the Badminton World Championships, silver in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and so on. Eventually, it became difficult for Gopi to train Sindhu as he was the coach of the Indian team. This implied additional responsibilities to Gopichand. As a result, the pair parted ways in 2019. 

Read more: Best Olympic moments No.2: PV Sindhu bags historic silver in Rio, a triumph that shuttled across the globe

Under Kim Ji Hyun

Pullela Gopichand was unable to give PV Sindhu the time she needed because he was busy mentoring many other young talented shuttlers. That’s when South Korean shuttler Kim Ji Hyun entered the picture. In 2019, Kim Ji Hyun became a member of Pullela Gopichand’s coaching staff, however, she primarily assisted PV Sindhu. The two soon bonded. Just a few months after seizing the reins, she assisted PV Sindhu in becoming the first Indian to win the BWF World Championship in 2019. She won in straight sets, 21-7, 21-7, over Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara. Since Sindhu had previously lost two finals in a row, this victory was also significant for her. Nevertheless, the partnership between PV Sindhu and Kim Ji Hyun was cut short when the Korean coach had to return home as her husband fell sick.

Read more: PV Sindhu will remain India’s golden shuttler regardless of medal colour

Under Park Tae-Sang

After Kim’s exit, Park Tae-Sang, another South Korean, took over as PV Sindhu’s coach near the end of 2019. In 2019, Park started coaching the men’s singles players after joining the Indian national team. He thereafter began instructing Sindhu. However, the Sindhu-Park pair struggled to produce results in the early months and did not win a trophy following her world championship triumph. With the Olympics in Tokyo on the horizon, Park continued to coach the star Indian shuttler for five to six hours each day in the vital months leading up to the Olympic Games. They even shifted their base from Gopichand Academy to Gachibowli stadium. 

The collaboration ultimately paid off as PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win two medals in the Olympics. Sindhu defeated China’s He Bingjiao to capture the bronze medal in only her second Olympic Games outing. The Indian was ready to give Park credit for her achievement, claiming that he was the one who inspired her following her semifinal loss to Tai Tzu Ying. After losing in the semifinals, Sindhu said that she was upset, but Park consoled her by pointing out that they still had a chance to win. 

Under his coaching, Sindhu claimed the Syed Modi International, Swiss Open, and Singapore Open in 2022 in addition to the Olympic bronze medal. He also assisted her in winning the women’s singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. However, the duo ended their partnership in February 2023.

Read more: Tokyo 2020 round-up: Super Sunday sees PV Sindhu win bronze & men’s hockey team reach semis