Endurance. Speed. Power. Explosiveness.
These are the key areas currently occupying Anup Sridhar’s mind as he embarks on his latest challenge – coaching the two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu.
The challenge is a formidable one. But rather than being daunted, he is excited at the opportunity to coach one of the finest shuttlers.
“Sindhu is very courteous, polite, and a genuinely nice person,” Sridhar told The Bridge.
“As an athlete, she is fantastic – a great ambassador for Indian badminton. She is extremely dedicated, highly motivated, and hard-working. Any coach would love to train her. She is the most coachable player.”
Sridhar knows the task ahead will not be easy, with Sindhu no longer in the top 10 and struggling to rediscover her consistency.
The sharp, relentless instinct that led her to the 2019 World Championships crown in Basel, after two successive runner-up finishes, seems to have faded.
Injuries have slowed her down, and her inability to get the better of left-handed shuttlers has become increasingly apparent.
Since her Commonwealth Games gold medal, shortly after her 2022 Singapore Open title, injuries have been a recurring issue.
First, she suffered an ankle injury. Once recovered, she returned to the circuit only to injure her left knee.
What goals does Sridhar have for Sindhu now?
‘Target is to keep Sindhu healthy and safe’
Sridhar has his priorities cut out and they are not necessarily on-court results.
“There are no shortcuts to success,” he says, while insisting that his priority is to keep Sindhu healthy and injury-free.
With clarity of thought, Sridhar knows what needs to be done to rejuvenate Sindhu’s beleaguered career.
He is taking a cautious approach to coaching, ensuring that he does not rush the process in pursuit of immediate success.
“It is been about four weeks since I have been working with Sindhu. She approached me after returning from the Paris Olympics,” said Sridhar, who lives in Bengaluru.
“I flew down to Hyderabad, and we have had several chats, going over everything that has not worked for her in the last couple of years. We are addressing each issue one by one. The progress might not be immediate, but it will be a continuous process. We want to ensure she is having an upward trajectory in the coming months,” stressed Sridhar.
For a player who holds the record for most World Championships medals (five), Sindhu’s recent form has been underwhelming.
Her last BWF World Tour title came at the Singapore Open in July 2022, and her Paris Olympics campaign ended in a second-round exit, losing to left-hander He Bing Jiao. After a competitive first game (19-21), Sindhu appeared worn out and was outplayed in the second (14-21) as Bing Jiao outmaneuvered her at the net and exhausted her with prolonged rallies.
Paris 2024: A Beautiful Journey but a Difficult Loss ❤️
This loss is one of the hardest of my career. It will take time to accept, but as life moves forward, I know I will come to terms with it.
The journey to Paris 2024 was a battle, marked by two years of injuries and long… pic.twitter.com/IKAKu0dOk5
— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) August 2, 2024
“Given her standard, Sindhu was a bit slower at the Olympics,” Sridhar observed.
“Sindhu was leading in the first game against Bing Jiao, but at 19-all, her game dipped. It was not up to her usual mark, but she has not let herself fade away. She has continued her physical training and has set her goals.”
Sridhar is careful not to push Sindhu too hard. His philosophy is that of a calm and methodical approach, with patience being key.
“The truth is that we are dealing with somebody who has achieved nearly everything. She is a very capable, experienced and competent player, and she knows what to do in a tough match,” stated Sridhar.
“The first target is to get her on court healthy, safe, and pain-free. We have to be smart about managing her workload, knowing when and how much to push,” apprised the coach.
“But of course, we are not going easy, we are well on course,” emphasised the former Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships medallist.
Sridhar understands that injuries could become a concern if Sindhu is pushed too hard too soon.
“We are sensible in our approach. First, we will focus on endurance, and once we build that, we will move to speed, power and explosiveness. Jumping too quickly into intense training runs the risk of injury,” opined the coach.
Areas of improvements
Considering Sindhu’s current state of play, where her signature jump smash looked flat, Sridhar suggested technical and strategic adjustments.
“Definitely there are areas like technique and strategy where we have already started working on. But we need a couple of tournaments to get the hang of each other in a match setting because the maximum amount of pressure is always in a match,” assumed Sridhar, who previously coached Lakshya Sen.
In terms of game techniques, Sindhu looked a tad slow in her movement. She struggled at the net and with her court coverage.
“The net play (is) actually her strongest area but she has become a little bit lower at the net. When she is high at the net, she flicks, dribbles and sends cross, all of that. But I do not see her court coverage as a huge problem. Speed is an area she needs quite a lot of improvement. But our first priority is developing endurance,” said Sridhar, who is currently training Sindhu at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.
’29 is not old for badminton anymore’
Sindhu, who took a break after her disappointing Paris Olympics campaign, is set to return to competition at the Arctic Open next week, marking the beginning of the European swing of the BWF World Tour. Sridhar, however, cautioned that results will not be immediate and called for patience.
“Sindhu has just turned 29, which is not considered old for badminton anymore. She is still physically fit and motivated, which is in her favour. Most players lose interest after a while, but Sindhu has not. She remains extremely dedicated,” said Sridhar.
Providing a glimpse into the efforts to enrich Sindhu’s training, he said, “We maintain constant communication with the S&C (Strength and Conditioning) and physio teams, utilising modern tools to monitor her recovery. I prefer not to share too many details, as it is almost like a trade secret, but we are being sensible about how hard we push her.”
“Off course, we have decided to continue this partnership until the end of the year, after which we will review the association and decide on how to proceed,” he said.
Sridhar, a tall and aggressive player like Sindhu, is drawing on his own experiences to guide her.
“I made a lot of mistakes by pushing too hard in training. I am using the lessons from my own mistakes to ensure we avoid those pitfalls.”
Coaching a player of Sindhu’s caliber, especially after the legendary players turned coaches like Pullela Gopichand and Prakash Padukone, is challenging, but it does not intimidate Sridhar.
“I am excited by the challenge. Both Prakash and Gopi sir were my coaches, and I have learnt a lot from them. I will certainly use that experience moving forward,” signed off Sridhar.