Sindhu courts title success with new training method

INDIA’S two-time Olympic medallist, PV Sindhu, said she still has the fire to achieve more in the last phase of her career as she has begun a new chapter under Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama.

The 29-year-old from Hyderabad has worked with multiple coaches, but endured a challenging season which included a medal-less Olympic campaign.

She is one of only three Indians to win back-to-back Olympic medals and is also a world champion, besides claiming podium finishes at the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Sindhu, who returns to action at the India Open Super 750 after missing the Malaysia Open recently following her wedding last month, has begun training under Irwansyah. He is credited with the rise of men’s singles stars Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting.

“Right now, I am training with coach Irwansyah in Bangalore, it has been just one and-a-half weeks,” Sindhu said. “Basically, he is the women’s singles coach and is training some young boys as well. I am really looking forward to it.

“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 is the right coach for me. His approach against opponents, I think it’s really good.”

The shift from personal coaches to group training under Irwansyah at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy marks a major change for Sindhu. “Yes, it will be in a group. Basically, when the camp list comes out, we will know who the women players are.” Having achieved success, including the Rio Olympic silver, under the tutelage of her mentor and chief India coach Pullela Gopichand, Sindhu later worked with Korea’s Kim Ji Hyun to win the 2019 World Championships and claimed the Tokyo Games silver with Park Tae-Sang.

She then moved to Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, before training with Vidhi Choudhary for a brief time. Sindhu trained under Indonesian Agus Dwi Santoso and India’s Prakash Padukone mentored her ahead of the Paris Olympics. She also sought the guidance of Anup Sridhar and Korean Lee Hyun-il until December.

Asked if the dynamics will be different in a group setting, Sindhu said: “I don’t think it will be different. Initially when I used to play as an individually coached player as well, there were players who were sparring with me. So, it’s good for them and it’s also good for me because they make it difficult.

“It will be like a conference, where they are also improving, I am also improving. We are competing against each other.”

Before claiming the Syed Modi Super 300 crown in December, Sindhu had last won a BWF title at the Singapore Open in 2022. A stress fracture on her left foot following the Commonwealth Games gold kept her away from the court for a long time. Sindhu also suffered a knee injury in 2023, and though she reached the finals at the 2023 Spain Masters Super 300 and Malaysia Masters Super 500 in 2024, she did not win the title.

“I need to maintain my speed. I need to have my power. The women’s singles game is evolving, and after playing for so many years, I think opponents definitely know my game by now. They’ll anticipate it, so it’s crucial to strategise with my coach, having both a plan A and plan B,” she said.

Sindhu’s plan for the 2025 season is to compete in select tournaments to avoid injuries. “I feel there’s so much more to achieve. I have that fire in me, and I know I can do it. It’s just a matter of time and rhythm.

“I definitely want to secure another medal at the World Championships, and also at the All England Championships. There are big tournaments like the World Tour Finals that I’ve already won medals in, but every time you step onto the court, you always want to win, even if you’ve won before.”

She added, “I have seen a lot through sport. It was important for me to believe in myself when there were days when I was injured and I didn’t know if I could come back and be 100 per cent. It happened in 2015, when I had an injury, but then I bounced back, and I got a silver at Rio.

“My life has changed a lot since the time I started. I am very grateful for what I have achieved and when I look back, I can say that yes, I have done whatever I could.