Badminton
Desperate PV Sindhu seeks Prakash Padukone's help to arrest slide
Sindhu is currently working on changing a few technical aspects of her game and not much expectations should be kept on her at the Asian Games, says Vimal Kumar, PPBA director.
Two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu loses to Beiwen Zhang in the Australian Open quarterfinals in Sydney on August 4, 2023. (Photo credit: BAI)
Desperate to arrest the slump in form since last year, PV Sindhu sought the help of the legendary Prakash Padukone and trained under him at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru last week.
'Low on confidence' Sindhu is currently working on changing a few technical aspects of her game and not much expectations should be kept on her at the Asian Games, said Vimal Kumar, the director of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.
“We have been sitting and observing her sessions. Prakash spoke to her and tried to motivate her. We have also interacted with her coach (Muhammad Hafiz Hashim),” Vimal told PTI.
“She is at the moment low on confidence and physically and mentally slightly in a poor state. She has some work to do and we shouldn’t expect much from her at the Asian Games. She is a big player and it is important to give her some time, it might take a few months for her to regain her touch. There are a few technical aspects, where she can make some changes," he said.
The 28-year-old Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and the 2019 world champion, has lost in the first round seven times on the BWF World Tour this year, with a runner-up finish at the Madrid Spain Masters and a semifinal finish each at the Canada Open and Malaysia Masters and two quarterfinals - US Open Super 300 and Australian Open Super 500 - being the highlight so far.
Ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Sindhu has pulled out of the China Open Super 1000 and Hong Kong Open Super 500 to focus on the multi-sport event beginning September 23.
She along with her Malaysian coach Hafiz Hashim then spent the last week training at the PPBA under the former All England Open champion Padukone.
For world number 14 Sindhu, it is a crucial period in her career with the Olympic qualification cycle for the 2024 Games having started on May 1.
In February, the player from Hyderabad parted ways with Korean coach Park Tae-Sang, who was instrumental in her winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sindhu worked with SAI coach Vidhi Chaudhary for some time before roping in Hafiz ahead of the Olympics.
(With PTI inputs)
