Malaysia's former All-England champion Hafiz to coach India's PV Sindhu in Olympic quest
19 Jul 2023 01:01pm
Hafiz (left), PV Sindhu (right)
Hyderabad-born Sindhu won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics and bronze at the Tokyo 2020 edition.
The 2019 world champion has been struggling with her form of late as she prepares for the Paris 2024 Games, scheduled to be held from July 26 to Aug 11.
"After a long, drawn-out process, I am ecstatic to declare that I have chosen the incredible Hafiz Hashim as my coach," Sindhu said in a social media post on Tuesday.
"Hafiz possesses all the traits I was seeking in a coach, including the height, speed, and an attacking instinct," the 28-year-old said.
The reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallist had recently asked for the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) approval to receive training from the Malaysian.
Hafiz, 40, quit as a junior coach with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) at the end of last year and accepted an offer from the Suchitra Badminton Academy (SBA) in Hyderabad this year.
The SAI will pay Hafiz's travel and daily allowance, while his salary will be paid by SBA and sports promotion body Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), which has supported Sindhu for many years, according to a Hindustan Times report.
Sindhu parted ways with her South Korean coach Park Tae-Sang, who had trained her since 2019, in February this year.
"Buckle up, folks; it's going to be a hell of (a) journey with captain Hafiz at the helm," she said in the post.
Sindhu, who has also won two silver and bronze medals in World Championships, was eliminated from the US Open quarter-finals last week by China's Gao Fang Jie.
"This loss has left a significant emotional impact on me, especially considering the challenging and demanding year I've had. It's disheartening to experience a disappointing defeat after each successful tournament," she said on Monday.
"However, I am determined to channel my emotions into redoubling my efforts and making the remainder of the year truly remarkable," Sindhu said.
Hafiz believes the Indian badminton star will rediscover her winning touch.
"There will always be pressure on us (coaches and players) by way of expectations. But that holds good for all the other contenders too. We will find a way out to rediscover the winning touch which made Sindhu such a champion player," he told Sportstar magazine.
"She is a big-match player and the recent indifferent form is only an aberration,” he said. - BERNAMA
