India Open: PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag hope to leave a mark under new coaches

Delhi: Former world champion PV Sindhu and Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to turn the tide at the India Open Super 750 tournament, starting on Tuesday.

The shuttlers are back in action with Sindhu playing her first tournament of the year. Sat-Chi, on the other hand, will play their second tournament of the year after last week's semi-final exit at the season-opening Malaysia Open Super 1000.

In 2025, both Sindhu and Sat-Chi will train under new coaches ushering in a new era for them and Indian badminton.

While Sat-Chi parted ways with their long-time coach Mathias Boe after the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sindhu has been experimenting with multiple coaches after her stint with Korean Park Tae Sang.

Sat-Chi have reunited with the Korean coach Tan Kim Her while PV Sindhu is training under renowned Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama.

Sat-Chi working on defence with Tan

The Indian men's doubles pair had a fabulous 2024 reaching the world number one in BWF Rankings and also winning multiple titles. However, their quarter-final exit from the 2024 Paris Olympics brought a sense of gloom to Indian badminton fans.

Post Paris Olympics, coach Mathias Boe decided to move on and Satwik took a break to nurse a shoulder injury.

In 2025, the Indian pair is back with Tan Kim Her, who is credited for bringing them together during his first stint in the country.

Chirag said that under Tan the focus is on strengthening the defence as they seek more glory in the BWF Circuit.

"We are known for our attacks and smashes. With Kim around, we work with small improvements, especially in the defence part which is good but not yet the best in the world," Chirag told the reporters at the India Open press conference. "He shared his thoughts on our quarterfinal loss, where he felt we fell short.

"It was similar to our assessment. We should have been better at the net, especially during crucial stages. They challenged us well at the net, and that's one area we hope to improve upon," he added.

Satwik, meanwhile, asserted that he is completely fit having recuperated from the shoulder as well as the back injury.

"The shoulder injury has been on and off. But I also had a back injury after the Paris Olympics which took time to recover from. But now I am fine and have no problems,” said Satwik.

"The last time we came here was after playing the final of the Malaysia Open and reached the final here. This time also we have started (the year) with a semi-final in Malaysia and want to improve on last year’s results,” he added further.

PV Sindhu enters a new era

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu ended the 2024 season with a title at the Syed Modi India International Super 300.

The shuttler from Hyderabad entered a new chapter in her personal life marrying businessman Venkata Datta Sai and will look to begin her professional life 2025 with a big win in front of the home crowd.

In terms of coaching, Sindhu will train under Indonesian coach Irwansyah who is credited with the rise of men’s singles stars Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting.

In the past two years, PV Sindhu has worked with multiple coaches but still endured a challenging season which included a medal-less Olympic campaign.

"Right now I am training with coach Irwansyah in Bangalore, it has been just one and a half weeks. He is a women's singles coach and also he is training some young boys as well. I am looking forward to it. We have recently started," Sindhu said on the eve of the tournament.

"The bonding is important between coach and athlete, it will take time. We will need a couple of training sessions to come together and understand what he's thinking. I've heard a lot about him and I thought he was the right coach for me. The way he's approaching against opponents, I think it's really good," she added further.

She has been training in a group under Irwansyah at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.

Sindhu achieved tremendous success with Pullela Gopichand and later worked with Korea's Kim Ji Hyun and Park Tae-Sang. All her major titles and medals came with Gopichand, Kim, and Park.

She then moved to Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, before training with Vidhi Choudhary for a brief time.

She trained under Indonesian legend Agus Dwi Santoso with the legendary Prakash Padukone also mentoring her ahead of the Paris Olympics and then was guided by the duo of Anup Sridhar and Korean Lee Hyun-il till December.

"This will be my first tournament after marriage and also in the new year. So everything is new and I want to give my best in the competition in front of the home fans. After the Paris Olympics, I wanted some time to recover physically and emotionally, and the break has helped me get back rejuvenated," Sindhu concluded.