When Kidambi Srikanth's training duties were taken over by Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo in 2017, he experienced unprecedented success.
Follow Us
Indian star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has hired an Indonesian coach to help him up his game in the lead-up to next year’s championship with the Paris Olympics in mind. The Olympic qualifying began on May 1 and Srikanth, who has been having form issues, has hired Wiempie Mahardi to assist him in his training. “I’ve been looking for a coach ever since Agus left in December 2021. I currently train with Indonesian coach Wiempie Nahardi. I ran into him there when I went to Indonesia for three weeks of training. In the final week of April,” he arrived in India, according to former world number one Srikanth.
Since the abrupt departure of Indonesia’s Agus Dwi Santoso in December 2021, India has yet to name a foreign coach for its men’s singles players. Park Tae Sang has been supporting the men’s singles players ever since PV Sindhu and the Korean split in February. “Through TOPS, I attempted to find a coach, but it didn’t work out In January, I submitted the proposal to SAI; it has been pending ever since. I couldn’t hold out any longer because the Olympic qualification period began in May, so I made the decision to do it myself,” Srikanth said.
Wiempie Mahardi, a former player who represented Indonesia and reached the top 25 in the world, has more than 10 years of coaching experience and has worked with athletes in numerous clubs around the world. When Srikanth’s training duties were taken over by Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo in 2017, he experienced unprecedented success. In the following year, the Indians won four championships. When he joined the Indian team in 2020, Agus Dwi Santoso, another Indonesian coach, influenced him.
Read More-Asian Games 2022: Badminton trials to decide the fate of shuttlers
“Having a personal coach may not be effective for everyone, but it has been in the past for me. I performed well both when Mulyo and Agus were present. I am therefore able to use this Indonesian style, which is why I needed a coach. It is difficult to play without a coach, even though that is the bare minimum expected of a player,” according to the Baseline Ventures-managed player.
As he took part in the Asian Games selection trials, Srikanth was unable to train with his new coach. He came out on top with six victories in as many games and qualified for the individual events. “I didn’t have time to train with him after returning from the Asia Badminton Championships. I only had two days before the trials and two days following them. I hope to get some time to train with him after the upcoming Asian competitions. Srikant continued. In seven competitions, Srikanth managed just one quarterfinal finish, which caused his world ranking to drop from 13 to 22.
Read More-Badminton World Federation (BWF) keeps its ban on Russia and Belarus
