Badminton
PV Sindhu ropes in Agus Dwi Santoso as a coach, eyes February comeback
Sindhu, who has been out of competitions since October last year, intends to return to court at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February.
PV Sindhu in action during a BWF event.
PV Sindhu replaced her Malaysian coach Muhammad Hafiz Hashim with Indonesia's Agus Dwi Santoso as she intends to return to court at the Badminton Asia Team Championships, scheduled for February 13-18.
Sindhu, who had paired up with Hafiz Hashim in July 2023 after her South Korean coach Park Tae-Sang refused to continue the partnership, has currently been recovering from a knee injury sustained during her French Open second-round match against Thailand's Supanida Katethong in October.
Sindhu has been out of competition since then. She has also opted for a protected ranking (11).
The shuttler has recently resumed her practice at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru under her new foreign coach Dwi Santoso, who previously trained Olympic silver medallist Hendrawan, Budi Santoso, and Busanan Ongbamrungphan. Dwi Santoso was also part of the Indian squad in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“We started working together in the last five days. It has been really good. He is keeping a close eye on what I might need,” Sindhu told Sportstar.
"I am feeling very comfortable in training, and there is nothing to worry about. I am not hurrying up things. Planning to peak at the right time for the Olympics. I believe it is only a question of time before I regain my wonted form,” Sindhu said.
“My first major tournament after the injury break should be the Asian team championship next month. Given how things are progressing, I am pleased and confident of peaking at the right time,” the 28-year-old two-time Olympic medallist added.
Sindhu shifted to PPBA in Bengaluru last year following the knee injury. She had to endure a nightmarish 2023 as she failed to win a single title in a calendar year for the first time in her illustrious career.
Sindhu, meanwhile, said Dwi Santoso has been assessing her court movement and fitness level.
"For, everything is so interlinked in making one a very good player,” she said.
"Santoso produced a lot of quality players, and he knows exactly what the demands are when I have decided to join him. Yes, there can be some minor changes, like the way I am moving around on the court,” Sindhu added.
