New Delhi: Former Indian shuttler and Arjuna awardee Anup Sridhar has left his position as the singles coach of Singapore, having returned to India last month due to a medical emergency in his family.
“I was there for one year but now I am back for good. Apart from the family issue, I have plans for some initiatives regarding my academy,” the 42-year-old Anup told HT from Bengaluru.
Anup was hired by the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) in December 2024 on a two-year contract with the possibility of an extension for another two.
In Singapore, Anup took over from renowned coach Mulyo Handoyo, who coached legendary Indonesian shuttler Taufik Hidayat, guiding him to the 2004 Athens Olympics gold and the 2005 World Championships crown. He was also coach of India’s singles players nine years back.
During his stint Anup coached top Singaporean shuttlers including former world champion Loh Kean Yew. Anup has also coached Indian stars such as double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen and has been running the Anup Sridhar Badminton Academy in Bengaluru since 2018.
“Apart from my coaching experience, there was lots of learning, some of which were eye opening in Singapore. The system is not massively different from India but it’s more professional regarding planning. There’s a lot of thought that goes behind the system. It is very process based,” he said.
