Indian badminton fans anxiously await the double Olympic medallist’s return, not having played since October due to injuries and poor form.
There’s something missing at the ongoing India Open here. For the first time since 2007, both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu – flag-bearers of Indian badminton in the last decade-and-a-half – are not playing at the annual event.
While Saina is in the twilight of her career, Sindhu has been reeling with injuries and a drastic dip in form in the last 18 months. The double Olympic medallist’s last title came at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She has not just lost to almost all top players but also regularly made first round exits.
To resurrect her career with the Paris Olympics looming, the 2019 world champion has been trying out many things. First, she split with Korean coach Park Tae-sang at the start of last year before training with Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Vidhi Chaudhary. She then brought on board Malaysia’s former All England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim in July 2023 to coach. With that too not working, she decided to train under former great Prakash Padukone.(HT)