Sindhu can reach an even higher level with more speed, power: New coach Irwansyah

New Delhi, PTI: Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama aims to not just tweak PV Sindhu's technique and fine-tune her skills but also reignite the fire within her, believing that, with added speed and power, she can regain her lost glory and surpass her previous achievements. Irwansyah, who has been recently roped in by Badminton Association of India (BAI) to train women's singles players, was courtside when Sindhu overcame rustiness to reach the second round of the India Open Super 750 tournament, defeating world No. 24 Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei 21-14, 22-20 on Tuesday.

"Every player has been through something like this. What I've learned, I want to pass on to her. I'll try my best. I believe she can still do it. She can come back and reach an even higher level than before. I do believe in it. That's the reason I'm here," Irwansyah, a former long-term head coach of the Indonesian men's singles team, told PTI. "My plan is to make her more of an attacking player. She has all the right qualities, so I just want to build on that and push her further. I want to change her game to be more aggressive more speed and power." It has been a challenging two years for Sindhu, who broke a title drought by winning the Syed Modi Super 300 crown last December.

After clinching the 2022 Singapore Open and Commonwealth Games titles, she faced a setback with a stress fracture. Although she recovered and reached the final at the 2023 Spain Masters, a knee injury in October hampered her progress. She returned to action in February, reaching the final of the Malaysia Masters Super 500, but was unable to secure a title.

"I want to help her enjoy herself more on the court. It's important that she enjoys it because when she enjoys it, she'll become more confident. That's the main focus right now — working hard to get her to believe in herself again," Irwansyah said.