New Delhi: PV Sindhu has every attribute to regain the ground she has lost in the last couple of years due to injury, believes Irwansyah Adi Pratama, India’s new badminton coach for women’s singles players.
The two-time Olympic medallist won her first trophy since 2022 at the Syed Modi Super 300 event in December last year after multiple injuries hampered her Paris 2024 campaign.
A week into his new job, Irwansyah said he plans to reignite the fire in Sindhu that made her a world champion, as he sat courtside in her win over Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei 21-14, 22-20 at the India Open Open Super 750 tournament on Tuesday.
“Every player has been through something like this. What I’ve learned, I want to pass on to her. I’ll try my best. I believe she can still do it. She can come back and reach an even higher level than before. I do believe in it. That’s the reason I’m here,” Irwansyah told PTI.
“My plan is to make her more of an attacking player. She has all the right qualities, so I just want to build on that and push her further. I want to change her game to be more aggressive — more speed and power.”
‘Need Sindhu to be more aggressive’
The former head coach of the Indonesian men’s singles team also said Sindhu might be at the later stages of her career but emphasised that success has nothing to do with age but more with discipline and confidence.
“I want to help her enjoy herself more on the court. It’s important that she enjoys it because when she enjoys it, she’ll become more confident. That’s the main focus right now — working hard to get her to believe in herself again,” Irwansyah said.
“After everything, the last two years have been tough — injuries, maybe… It’s really about confidence. I’m doing my best to help her believe in what she has. She has a lot of potential.”
Sindhu has trained under multiple coaches in the last few years in an attempt to rediscover her touch without much success.
“It’s not about age. What’s important is how she manages discipline, what she eats, how she rests, and doing the right training. And with the whole team in place — strength and conditioning coach, nutrition, physio, and me — it will happen,” Irwansyah pointed out.
PV Sindhu won her first trophy since 2022 at the Syed Modi Super 300 event in December last year after multiple injuries hampered her Paris Olympics campaign. Badminton Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
