Sindhu, Gopi working together again could be a boon!

The incredible collapse of PV Sindhu from being a world champion to a player losing to almost anyone who can pick up a racquet is indeed alarmingThe latest horror show was her secondround exit from the World Championships where Nozomi Okuhara of Japan beat her 2114 2114 This is the same player whom Sindhu pulverised 217 21 7 at the same event in 2017Sindhu has a new coach now in Muhammad Hafiz Hashim the former All England champion from Malaysia According to experts she must go back to her old playing style if she wants to revive her careerIndian badminton depends a lot on her to ensure that we stay in the limelight and be on a winning spreePullela GopichandSo what is going wrong with her Pullela Gopichand started training her from the age of nine at his academy in Hyderabad We all remember stories of her travelling 50km every morning to reach by about 6am and then leave with her father PV Ramana a former ace volleyball player an Arjuna awardee no less on his motorbike It was the same travelling distance in the evening Though it is true that Gopi was not having enough time to coach her since the national camps required his attention he made a good number of coaches and players available for her to train and ensure she got good topclass play Gopi obviously knows her game and mentality inside out It is he who made her a world champion in 2017Gopi and Sindhu parted ways in 2019 when she opted to train with Korean coach Kim Ji Hyun Kim however left her in 2021 and another Korean Park Taesang took over the responsibility of training her Park who was with her till the Tokyo Games has also quitSlow disoriented styleMeanwhile Sindhu has had a really horrid time on the circuit In the last few months her playing style has been very slow and disoriented Her tall frame is wellendowed to play the aggressive smash and net pattern which she was actually playing and relishing That is nowhere to be seen She has won 26 international medals including five at the World Championships two at the Olympics and three at the Commonwealth Games In fact 90 per cent of the medals were achieved when Gopi was her coachAlso Read BWF Rankings PV Sindhu slips to No 17 lowest in over a decadeSindhu dominated the international scene for almost a decade She and Gopi made a deadly and unbeatable combination He made a softspoken quiet girl into a winning machine Simple things against her nature helped her immensely For example he made her scream her loudest when she took a point off her opponent She was very reluctant and almost in tears as he would not allow her to play further unless she screamedHer present defensive pattern of play has not found any takersFormer Asian champion Dinesh Khanna is astonished at the turn of events ldquoLook at the last six tournaments She has been mediocre She lost the India Open Malaysian Open in the first round and a couple more in the second round She did reach the final of the Swiss Open but could not defend her title The main problem is that for reasons best known to her and her coach she is playing a game alien to her totally defensive Where is that fast foray to the net to get openingsrdquo asks KhannalsquoNo clarity in her approachrsquoAparna Popat Olympian and winner of nine national championship titles says ldquoI think there is no clarity in her approach She has forgotten the fast smashnet control style which was perfect for her But she is a champion I am sure she will get over this problem She is only 28rdquoFormer national champion and exchief national coach Vimal Kumar who saw her play at the All England Championships last March opines ldquoShe is still young and can make a comeback But she is playing tentatively with a total lack of confidence She must get into her old mode of playing and that too fastrdquoSo why is Gopi not training her anymore It seems that coach and pupil did not see eyetoeye and parted ways And the statements made by PV Ramana and Sindhu herself made matters worse Gopi maintained stoic silence like an elderly statesman ldquoSindhu was not getting good practicerdquo said Ramana after the 2018 Asian Games ldquoGopi did not play with her as he hardly had any time Gopi was not providing any regular sparring partner or a good coach to help her She was fed up with what was happening and finally we had no choice but to leave his academyrdquoSindhu endorsed the decision ldquoI am happy that I left the academy I find Park Taesang really good He has changed my approach to the sport I am becoming more comprehensive as a player and going for long ralliesrdquoTo another media group she said ldquoI did not miss Gopi at the Tokyo OlympicsrdquoSo this is where we are If they unite they can create magic on the court again Gopi knows her strengths and weaknesses thoroughly He will know exactly from where to start They are surely mature enough to know that they can combine and start winning again Who will make the first move is the million dollar question They must let bygones be bygones and look ahead For the sake of India if not anything else they must unite again The country expects this to happen soon so that they can concentrate on getting a medal at the Paris Olympics and bring glory to India next year