Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu are undoubtedly the crown jewels of Indian badminton. The ace shuttlers have made the country proud multiple times at major events. But with badminton being an individual sport, a rivalry between the two was a natural occurrence.
A crucial factor in the rise of Nehwal and Sindhu has been Pullela Gopichand. The former All England champion is arguably the finest coach the country has had in a long, long time. What with India having a plethora of world-class players thanks to his tutelage.
Both Nehwal and Sindhu have tasted immense success under the guidance of Gopichand, winning Olympic medals, Commonwealth Games (CWG) medals and Super Series titles. But there seems to be trouble among the trio.
According to a report by Times of India, Gopichand no longer coaches Nehwal and Sindhu together. The reason for that is discomfort between the two ladies. Nehwal defeated Sindhu in the gold medal match the CWG 2018 in Gold Coast, and soon after the two players decided to not train together. Gopichand has to now coach the stars at two separate academies.
In the interest of the players, our coaching team has taken this decision. I had earlier trained them in separate schedules. We do whatever suits the players best. I have no problem. Everything is going well and the players are also doing quite well,” Gopichand was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
While this development might indicate bitterness between Nehwal and Sindhu, it doesn't necessarily mean so. Upon her return from CWG 2018, Sindhu had said this about her rivalry with Nehwal: "The rivalry is always there but I think it is very good for the sport, and when it comes to on court rivalry, only one can win. So I want to win for myself and she wants to win for herself. Off court, we are just normal people. We have different schedules (training).
"Gopi sir has played a very important role in everybody's career, the dedication and the way he is focused, he is there training from morning to evening. He has sacrificed so many things for us."
from Daily News & Analysis https://ift.tt/2sKF7NU
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