PV Sindhu confirms appointment of new personal coach

Hafiz Hashim won the All England Championships title in 2003.

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has confirmed the appointment of her coach Hafiz Hashim through her social media handle. The former Malaysia International has several accolades to his name with the major being the All England Championships title in 2003. He is set to train PV Sindhu till the Paris Olympics 2024.

Sindhu in her social media iterated, "After a long, drawn-out process, I am ecstatic to declare that I have chosen the incredible Hafiz Hashim as my coach. Hafiz possesses all the traits I was seeking in a coach, including the height, speed, and an attacking instinct. As a former all England champion in 2003, he sure has the pedigree as well. Having coach Sidek as his old coach, just add this aura to him."

Hafiz Hashim joined the Suchitra Academy in Hyderabad in February 2023 on a three-year contract after leaving the Badminton Malaysia Academy coaching lineup in December last year. He has been coaching Sindhu since his appointment at the Suchitra Academy but the SAI (Sports Authority of India) approved request by PV Sindhu recently.

Prior to Hashim, Korea's Park Tae-Sang was Sindhu's coach who enjoyed a good partnership for close to three years. Under the guidance of Park, the Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medalist won her second consecutive medal at Tokyo 2020.

The Malyasian coach will have his task cut out with the Paris Olympic just a year away. Sindhu, 28, has not a consistent run this season which saw her move out of top 15 in the recently released BWF rankings. The Indian needs to get back to her best and gain valuable Olympics ranking points within the stipulated time frame.