PV Sindhu opts out of national camp, chooses to train under Malaysian coach Hafiz

PV Sindhu has chosen to skip the national camp for Indian shuttlers going to the Asian Games. On September 5th, the Badminton Association of India had announced a mandatory national camp for players headed to Hangzhou, with exceptions to be made for those playing BWF World Tour events.

The national camp was to take place between September 11 and 24, which happened to coincide with the dates of the BWF Super 500 Hong Kong Open.

Given that the tournament was a chance to collect qualification points for the Paris Olympics, players like Lakshya Sen, Tanisha Crasto, Ashwini Ponnappa, and Sikki Reddy were given permission to go to Kowloon.

PV Sindhu, on the other hand, has been given an exemption from the mandatory national camp. The Olympic medalist will instead train with her coach, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, at the Gachibowli Stadium and Suchitra Academy.

Saina Nehwal backs PV Sindhu's choice to train under Prakash Padukone

In surprising news, it was revealed that PV Sindhu had chosen to train under Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar for a week. She was accompanied by her coach, Hafiz Hashim.

Backing her decision was 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal.

Speaking on Sindhu's decision, Nehwal said in a Harvest Gold Global Race event:

"Change of coaches will help if you feel something is not working under some coach. Change of atmosphere also helps sometimes. You need to try it out. What I felt at that point of time was that at the end of my career I should not feel bad that I didn’t try something new. I should not have that regret."

Sindhu has had a disappointing 2023 after a comeback from an injury in January. The shuttler has had multiple first-round exits, and it remains to be seen if she can go back to her old self at the upcoming Asian Games.