PV Sindhu is aiming for a medal at the upcoming Asian Games and, if injury-free, plans to continue her journey to the next Olympics, according to her father, PV Ramana. “She’s back to training at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad and will kick off her campaign with the Arctic Open (October 8-13) in Finland,” he said.
Sindhu is unlikely to continue training in Bangalore, but the situation remains flexible. “Since no official camps have started, we’ve resumed training in Hyderabad,” Ramana added. Sindhu, who won Olympic silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021, returned from the Paris Games without a medal, losing to eventual silver medallist He Bingjiao in the pre-quarterfinals.
Anup Sridhar, a former Olympian and tall player like Sindhu, who had a brief but promising coaching stint with Lakshya Sen, will accompany Sindhu to the European swing – starting with the Arctic Open and followed by the Denmark Open (October 15-20) – on a trial basis.
“We are in search of a new coach as Agus’s contract is coming to an end. We are eager to see how the partnership with Anup Sridhar develops and are considering 4-5 potential candidates for the future. Anup will travel to Finland and will also train her in Hyderabad in the coming days,” Ramana stated.
Names such as Korean coach Park Tae-sang were also under consideration. “It’s not that they parted ways due to a disagreement; both Sindhu and I felt that the partnership wasn’t effective and wasn’t producing the desired results,” he explained.
Sindhu is currently focusing on fitness training at the ‘Track’ facility and has secured additional training slots at the Gachibowli Stadium. However, most of the next two months will involve travel for tournaments, as the European swing will be followed by competitions in Korea, Kumamoto, and the China Masters (from November 5 to 24). “I believe she can continue for a long time, provided there are no injuries,” Ramana stated.
Sindhu has faced challenges in securing major titles on the circuit, as her game has noticeably slowed and dropped below elite competition levels. However, her father believes she remains motivated to compete at the Asian Games in Japan in two years. Sindhu achieved her best performance at the 2018 Jakarta Games, where she won a silver medal.
India’s quest for the future of women’s singles continues, with promising developments such as Anmol Kharb winning smaller titles in consecutive weeks and Malvika Bansod reaching the quarterfinals of the China Open. “Sindhu has nothing left to prove, but she still believes she can aim for success at the Asian Games,” Ramana stated.
