Malaysian star Hafiz Hashim to assist PV Sindhu ahead of All England Open

Hashim signed a three-year contract and will be working on Sindhu’s game at the Suchitra Academy in Hyderabad.

Pradeep Raju (left), head coach of Suchitra Badminton Academy, with former All England champion Muhammed Hashim at Suchitra Badminton Academy in Hyderabad on Friday.

The next time double Olympics medallist P.V. Sindhu walks into the Suchitra Academy, which she has often said as her ‘second home’, the champion shuttler will have the liberty of working with former All England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.

Suchitra Academy’s head coach Pradeep Raju signed a three-year partnership with Hashim with the specific objective of producing medallists at the highest level even while emphasising on quality coaching for the young shuttlers at the Academy.

“From the first few training sessions, I do believe the young talent has the potential to go the distance. They are very skillful but yes, we will finalise a suitable programme to meet their aspirations. Let me make it clear, I will be focusing on singles,” Hashim.

“Yes, I will be sharing my experiences with the shuttlers here, exploring how far I can go to make them better players,” he said.

“For me, physically they are strong, so the emphasis will be on mental aspects including handling pressure under different situations. If they are really good in technique and (have) consistency in their game. We have to educate them how to play to win,” Hashim said.

“From my experience, I feel the juniors need exposure with which the experience comes at the highest level. Many Indians have skills but sometimes in terms of match endurance, they seem to lack. Like, they seem to struggle to play three-game contests right through a tournament. The body doesn’t seem to respond to the demands of such challenges. So, we will really work on this critical aspect,” he explained.

The famed Malaysian shuttler, who also won many Super Series, would be based in the city and taking care of a core group of 35 players who have been winning medals at the national and international level along with the up-and-coming players.

“I am thankful to Pradeep for giving me this opportunity and I am confident the results will be there for sure,” said Hashim, who was also the coach of Awadhe Warriors in the Premier Badminton League.

Pradeep said, for them the journey had begun in 2016 to become a premier academy and were looking for either a Grade I coach or a player who was himself a champion. “So, since I felt Hashim, whom I know for the last five years, fitted the bill having handled top players in the past. So, we are sure he knows what it needs to be a champion and we are confident that he will help us realise the objective of producing medallists at the highest level,” he said.

Pradeep signed off saying that they would have a month-long camp in April or May at the Suchitra Academy for all the high-performing players across India who are interested in training under Hashim.