Paris 2024 in mind, Kidambi Srikanth ropes in Wiempie Mahardi as personal coach

Indian badminton player Kidambi Srikanth, who has been struggling for form of late, has roped in Indonesia’s Wiempie Mahardi as a personal coach with an eye on the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Indian men’s singles badminton team is currently without a full-time foreign coach. However, with the qualification period for the Paris 2024 Olympics starting from May 1, Srikanth opted to go for a personal coach.

"I was trying to get a coach through TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) but somehow, it didn't work out…so I decided to do it myself," Kidambi Srikanth told PTI. Wiempie Mahardi, a former world top 25 player, has extensive coaching experience of more than 10 years. 

Srikanth, a former world No. 1, became the first Indian men’s singles player to reach the final of the world championships in 2021 after training under the Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Santoso.

In 2017, Srikanth won four BWF titles in a single season. That success too came under an Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo.

"It worked for me in the past. When Mulyo was there, I did really well, and Agus was there, I did well. So this Indonesian style works for me,” Srikanth added.

Though Srikanth hasn’t had the best of seasons in 2023 so far, he topped the Badminton Association of India’s selection trials for the Asian Games with a streak of six wins to qualify for the men’s singles event.

Next up for Srikanth, currently world No. 22 in badminton rankings, is the Sudirman Cup, a mixed-team championship event, beginning in Suzhou, China on May 14. India have been pooled with Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Australia in Group C.