Indian badminton star PV Sindhu has appointed Anup Sridhar as her coach for the remainder of the season, following the departure of her previous trainer, Agus Dwi Santoso. Sridhar, a former Arjuna awardee and Lakshya Sen’s former coach, has been training Sindhu since early September at Hyderabad’s Gachibowli Stadium.
Sindhu’s coaching journey has been marked by regular changes in recent years. After winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics under South Korean coach Park Tae Sang, she parted ways with him in early 2023. She then briefly worked with SAI coach Vidhi Chaudhary before appointing Muhammad Hafiz Hashim as her coach. However, that partnership was short-lived, and Sindhu moved to Bengaluru to train under Prakash Padukone. Padukone’s academy, PPBA, brought in Agus Dwi Santoso to guide Sindhu until the Olympics, where she exited in the Round of 16.
Sridhar’s appointment is seen as a temporary measure, with Sindhu’s father, PV Ramana, indicating that a decision on a long-term coach will be made after the European season concludes in November.
Sindhu’s first tournament under Sridhar’s guidance will be the $420,000 Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, from October 8-13. She will then participate in the $850,000 Denmark Open in Odense.
Sridhar believes Sindhu is playing at a good level and is confident ahead of the upcoming tournaments. He plans to work on specific areas and assess their progress over time.
