Double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu on Tuesday introduced Malaysian Mohammad Hafiz Hashim as her new trainer, announcing he has the entire characteristics, together with the “pedigree” and “attacking instinct”, that she used to be in quest of forward of subsequent yr’s Paris Olympics.
PTI had reported previous that Sindhu had written to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), in quest of its approval to coach beneath the previous All England champion Malaysian as a part of the Sports Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
“HERE WE GO!! In typical Fabrizio style, I am thrilled to announce Hafiz Hashim as my new coach!!,” Sindhu, who’s these days in Yeosu for the Korea Open Super 500 match, wrote in a social media publish.
“After a long, drawn-out process, I am ecstatic to declare that I have chosen the incredible Hafiz Hashim as my coach.
“Hafiz possesses all the traits I was looking for in a coach, including the height, speed, and an attacking instinct. As a former All England champion in 2003, he sure has the pedigree as well. Having coach (Misbun) Sidek as his old coach, just adds this aura to him.”
Sindhu has been battling an inconsistent form and, with the Olympic qualification period for the 2024 Games having started from May 1, the Indian was looking for someone to guide her in her preparation for the Games, where she is eyeing the coveted gold.
“I prolong a heat welcome aboard, Coach Hashim. Buckle up people, it’ll be one hell of a adventure with Captain Hafiz on the helm!!”
Sindhu has regarded off colour this season after getting back from a five-month lengthy harm layoff following a pressure fracture on her ankle en path to her Commonwealth Games gold in August ultimate yr.
In February, the 28-year-old from Hyderabad parted techniques with Korean trainer Park Tae-Sang, who used to be instrumental in her successful the bronze medal on the Tokyo Olympics.
The spotlight this season for her has been a last end on the Madrid Spain Masters Super 300 and semifinal finishes on the Malaysia Masters Super 500 and Canada Open Super 500. However, she made early exits from a sequence of occasions firstly of the yr.
The inconsistent run affected her score as Sindhu, the 2019 global champion, slipped out of the highest 10 in April for the primary time since 2016 and slumped to global quantity 17 on Tuesday in the most recent BWF chart.
Sindhu used to be operating with SAI trainer Vidhi Chaudhary after the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) had licensed her proposal to financially help him in opposition to accompanying her to the All England Championships, Swiss Open, and Spain Masters.
Sindhu had labored with Hafiz on the Suchitra Badminton Academy forward of the Canada Open.
While nationwide leader trainer Pullela Gopichand has been her mentor, Sindhu has labored in brief with Kim Ju Hyun on technique to her World Championships gold in Basel. Since Kim left unexpectedly, she has been coaching with Park.
Hafiz, the 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, used to be a junior trainer on the Badminton Association of Malaysia earlier than he joined the Suchitra Academy in Hyderabad in February on a three-year contract.
Sindhu had sought the steering of the 40-year-old, who used to be additionally the trainer of Awadhe Warriors within the Premier Badminton League, all the way through her discuss with to the Suchitra Academy the place she is going for power and conditioning training beneath teacher Srikanth Verma.
This tale has been printed from a twine company feed with out adjustments to the textual content.