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PV Sindhu, the two-time Olympic medallist and the first Indian badminton world champion, is looking for a change in her coaching staff ahead of the Paris 2024 Games. The star shuttler has written to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), seeking its approval to train under former All England Open champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia.
Hafiz Hashim, who won the All England Open Badminton Championship in 2002 as well as the prestigious Commonwealth Games title in 2003, is currently working as a coach at the Suchitra Academy in Hyderabad. He had agreed to assist Sindhu for the All England Open Badminton Championship which took place in March, but Sindhu suffered a loss in the round of 32 match.
"I think the Sports Association of India will approve her proposal. She is an elite player for India and is likely to be the only woman singles badminton player to qualify for Paris Olympics," Vimal Kumar told the PTI in an interview.
“The director of Suchitra Academy asked me to provide some assistance to Sindhu for the All-England. I will not be her coach but will share my experience and help her in any way I can,” Hafiz Hashim, who has signed a two-year contract with the academy, said in an interaction with the Malaysian daily, The Star.
Sindhu's decision to part ways with her South Korean coach Park Tae-Sang comes after a series of disappointing results in 2023. She made early exits at the Malaysia Open and India Open and lost to lower-ranked opponents at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships.
Park Tae-Sang, who joined Sindhu in 2019, helped her win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He also guided her to win five BWF World Tour titles, including the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in 2018.
However, Sindhu felt the need for a change and expressed her desire to find a new coach. Park Tae-Sang respected her decision and said he will support her from afar. He will continue to train the junior players at the national camp.
