PV Sindhu emphasises on teamwork between coaches, parents and administrators

World badminton champion and Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu stressed on the importance of parents, coaches, administrators working as a team to build up a champion. 

Outlining the specific role of administrators, Sindhu said that young administrators represent the future of Indian sports and advised them to take an active interest in the needs of athletes. 

'Future of sports lies in...'

"The administrators must know the journey of every sportsperson. The future of Indian sports lies in the hands of young sports administrators like all of you. You must visit all the SAI regional centres and be aware of the performances from the players and be in touch with their parents. The parents' involvement is a lot and you need to take feedback from them. This feedback needs to be monitored. Moreover, players must be continuously tracked to avoid age fraud. You must also understand how the SAI coaching system works and if athletes are receiving the right diet and supplements at the various centres.” 

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The newly appointed Assistant Directors at the Sports Authority of India had a special guest on Tuesday, as reigning World Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist addressed them through an online session. The session was moderated by Nandan Kamath of GoSports Foundation. 

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Speaking of her own 2016 Olympic silver and her parents’ role, Sindhu said the sacrifices that parents make is something that often doesn’t get the importance it deserves, “Before the Rio Olympics we shifted to the academy. My mother gave up her job to care for me. My father took two years' leave from his job. The challenge was recovering from the injury I suffered in 2015. I used to sit and play in the academy. I had to play 23 tournaments in a year to even qualify for the Olympics. My father taking leave from his service really helped me. He used to take me to the Railways ground.” 

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Sindhu complimented the government for schemes such as Khelo India for propping up various sports from the grassroots level and urged other organisations to do the same. She also urged budding Badminton players to not ignore their studies for a career in Badminton, because the typical life of a Badminton player can be just 10-12 years. "While you don’t need to go to school every day, you must not skip it altogether," she said. 

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Speaking on the Coronavirus pandemic, which has put all sporting activities on hold. Sindhu said it might be a good opportunity to get ex-Indian players as coaches for athletes. “If the global pandemic continues, bringing coaches from abroad might become difficult, there are a lot of good players in our country who have played at an international level, and we can use them in a coaching capacity,” she said.