Going to support her from afar: Park, Sindhu part ways

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has ended her association with coach Park Tae-sang, the latter confirmed on Friday.

Indian shuttler PV Sindhu.(Photo | AP)

CHENNAI: Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has ended her association with coach Park Tae-sang, the latter confirmed on Friday. The badminton maestro, who’s ranked No 9 at present, has been rusty since her comeback from injury. The multiple World Championships medallist has suffered two back-to-back first-round defeats on tour — Malaysia Open and India Open. 

Park Tae-sang (right) with
PV Sindhu during the Tokyo
Olympics

She did well to win three matches at the recently-held Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships in Dubai but a deeper look at the numbers are telling. Sindhu lost a game against World No 232 in India’s match against Hong Kong before staging a comeback to win the contest in three games. In the next match, she suffered a crushing defeat against China’s Gao Fang Jie, World No 73, a loss that proved to be damaging for India (they lost 3-2 in the semifinals to return with a bronze medal).

It was clear that things were not going according to plans. “She has made disappointing moves in all recent matches, and as a coach, I feel responsible. So she wanted a change and said she would find a new coach. I decided to respect and follow her decision,” Park posted on Instagram on Friday. Park, a former player from South Korea, had joined the Indian national team to guide the singles players before turning the focus on Sindhu. 

Under his guidance, Sindhu had pocketed a bronze medal during the Tokyo Olympics before winning a gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. However, Park’s current contract is until 2024 and is likely to continue with BAI’s coaching programme in some capacity. “I’m sorry that I can’t be with her until the next Olympics, but I’m going to support her from afar. I will remember every moment with her,” Park added.

Sindhu will now be intent on finding Park’s replacement soon with the Olympic qualification phase starting soon. The qualification period begins on May 1 and will conclude on April 28 next year. Come May, Sindhu will be determined to find solutions and get wins under her belt.