Muhammad Hafiz Hashim will be coaching PV Sindhu in the upcoming tournaments after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) approved her coach till the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The double
Olympic badminton medallist had requested a change of assistance and The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of SAI cleared it recently. Hashim will join Sindhu at the Japan Open to train Sindhu and will accompany her further. “After Korea, Hashim will also travel to coach Sindhu at the Japan Open, Australian Open and the Asian Games,” said Pradeep Raju, co-founder and director of Hyderabad’s Suchitra Badminton Academy (SBA).
The former All-England champion said in an interview with Sportstar that their target is not just to qualify for the Olympics but also to win gold. "Yes, there will be pressure and it is not going to be easy as most of the players will be in action as this qualification cycle for the Olympics has already begun. And, this also means, Sindhu gets a perspective of what to expect".
“Our target is not just to qualify for the Olympics but to win the gold. It is great to join her team and we will try our best to realise this goal,” said Hashim.
Sindhu had reached the final of the Madrid Spain Masters, her best finish this season. Hafiz is also aiming to get Sindhu to rediscover her winning touch. “There will always be pressure on us (coaches and players) by way of expectations. But that holds good for all the other contenders too. We will find a way out to rediscover the winning touch which made Sindhu such a champion player,” Hashim said.
First Published: Jul 18, 2023 4:38 PM IST
