PV Sindhu parts ways with coach Park Tae Sang, South Korean tactician posts emotional message

South Korean coach Park Tae Sang on Friday, February 24 confirmed that he parted ways with two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu.

Park’s nearly 4-year association with Sindhu comes to an end with him confirming that the Indian shuttler wanted a change after a disappointing start to the 2023 season.

Park Tae Sang has been working with PV Sindhu since the World Championships in 2019. He was initially roped in by the Badminton Association of India as the men’s singles coach of the team but he began working with Sindhu in 2019. Under Park oversight, Sindhu won the World Championships gold, the Tokyo Olympics bronze and the Commonwealth Games gold, which was missing from her envious trophy cabinet for a long while.

Sindhu has had an ordinary start to 2023 after she recovered from an ankle injury that saw her miss the second half of the 2022 season, including the World Championships in Tokyo. Sindhu lost to Carolina Marin in the first round of the Malaysia Open and suffered a shock defeat to lower-ranked Supanida Katethong of Thailand in India Open in January.

Sindhu was part of India’s squad for the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship but the star shuttler lost to World No. 73 Gao Fang Jie in 3 games in the semi-final against China. She also lost to Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching in straight games in the round-robin stage.

“And I’d like to talk about my relationship with @pvsindhu1 , which many people have asked about. She has made disappointing moves in all recent matches, and as a coach, I feel responsible.” Park said in an Instagram post on Friday.

“So she wanted a change and said she would find a new coach. I decided to respect and follow her decision. I’m sorry that I can’t be with her until the next Olympics, but now I’m going to support her from afar. I will remember every moment with her. I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting and encouraging me,” he added.

Notably, Park had flown back home to be with his ailing father and the decorated coach said he left to India with a heavy heart as his father’s condition hadn’t improved much.

“Hello, it’s been a while since I said hello. I came back to Hyderabad a few days ago. And I want to say thank you to everyone who worried about my father. To be honest, my father’s condition is not good yet. So I felt heavy walking back to India,” he added.

Park had been a constant presence in Sindhu’s big-ticket matches. The former South Korean shutter, who retired from the sport at 31, also learned the term ‘aaram se (take it slowly)’ and used it from the sidelines to make sure Sindhu did not get carried away.

Park’s reaction when Sindhu’s won her 2nd Olympic medal in Tokyo was a sight to behold. It was also the South Korean’s first Olympic medal as a coach.