13 May,2011 08:05 AM IST | | Harit N Joshi
Saina Nehwal's father Dr Harvir Singh quashed reports that relations between the badminton ace and national coach Pullela Gopichand have soured over issues relating to tournament scheduling and training.
Since March, the World No 4 has moved away from her mentor and has been training under senior coach Bhaskar Babu.
Saina Nehwal with former coach Pullela Gopichand
Reportedly, Saina plans to continue with the arrangement till the 2012 London Olympics.
Dr Singh assured that Gopichand would still guide Saina whenever required. "It is not a split between the two. Saina still looks up to Gopi for anything in badminton.
"Now on, she will only train under Bhaskar as Gopi has to concentrate on other youngsters who are doing exceedingly well. "He is not just Saina's coach. He has to concentrate hard on his badminton academy as well," Dr Singh told MiD DAY from Hyderabad yesterday.
"Saina has been training with Bhaskar for a very long time. She needs a full-time coach and that is why they decided that Bhaskar would train her. I think it is a good decision," he added.
