R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt, the former world number 19 and Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist, is “enjoying” the transition from a player to a coach.
The 33-year-old Guru, as he is affectionately called by his fellow players and the support staff, has played a big role in H.S. Prannoy’s recent ascendency in the badminton World Tour. The world no. 8, Prannoy won his first-ever World Tour title at Malaysia Masters, a Superseries category event, last week.
“Honestly, being with Gopi sir for close to two decades as a player and now as a coach, I owe everything to him. The kind of system he has put in place ensures that the players get everything related to the training, those stimulated match conditions being very special, and exposure is truly amazing,” Guru, a CWG bronze medallist, said in an interaction with Sportstar. “Very lucky to be involved in such a system which is so sport-friendly, and I am learning a lot,” he added.
“This is the reason why after taking up coaching last year I am more than pleased to give off my best. There is a feeling of a whole family working for each other’s cause in the Academy,” Guru remarked.
“Well, honestly, before the Malaysian Masters, Prannoy looked to be short on confidence after the disappointment in the Sudirman Cup earlier. But, fortunately, being a workaholic with a never-say-die attitude, he could bounce back at the right time,” he said.
“And credit should be given to the support staff including physio Sumansh,” he added.
“What really helped Prannoy, who has a very strong forehand, during the Malaysian Masters was he decided to dig deep in every match. He was not in a hurry with those attacking strokes to score points, because the momentum shifts quickly if something goes wrong with that game. So, even if he had lost four points, he came back strongly in that waiting game to score a point and dominate. This was the decisive factor as it were the long rallies which got most of his points” the young, articulate coach explained.
Guru also revealed that he was in constant touch with chief national coach Pullela Gopichand during the Malaysian Masters to get the desired inputs.
“One rarely sees anyone like Prannoy who puts in so much hard work and most importantly he is so disciplined - on the court and off it to be mentally and physically ready for any challenge,” Guru said.
“The biggest challenge as a coach is to live up to the expectations of the players. Fortunately, even big achievers like Srikanth are engaged in healthy conversations, which might last for just five minutes when we try to analyse the previous matches. Having played with most of them, my task has definitely been easier,” he says with a big smile.
“The first objective for me as a coach is to ensure that the players don’t make mistakes which I have committed as a player,” said the soft-spoken Guru who will be travelling with the Indian squad for this week’s Singapore Open, followed by the Indonesian Open.
“Frankly, we are not yet feeling the pressure of the Olympics qualification cycle for the simple reason Gopi Sir takes care of the major issue with regard to that to ensure that India makes a big impact in the Paris edition next year,” Guru signed off.
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