Danish legend Mathias Boe is likely to return for a second term as India’s badminton team doubles coach after Malaysia’s Tan Kim Her declined the offer despite sports ministry approval.
Boe, a London Olympics silver medalist and former world No. 1 in doubles, had coached Indian doubles players including Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
“We were very keen to get Tan Kim Her and also got approval from SAI and the ministry, but he then refused to accept the offer. So he is not coming at the moment,” Badminton Association of India (BAI) Secretary General Sanjay Mishra told PTI.
“We are currently in discussion with Mathias Boe. He has experience in training our players and had done well with Satwik and Chirag. Nothing is finalized yet but we are trying to secure his services at least until the Asian Games, if not beyond. »
Boe had wanted to continue coaching Indian doubles players after the Tokyo Olympics, but not on a full-time basis, which was not acceptable to the federation.
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BAI then secured ministry approval to appoint Tan Kim Her for a five-year term until the 2026 Asian Games, but the Malaysian refused to return for a second term due to personal reasons.
It was under Boe that Satwik and Chirag won two of their three group matches at the Tokyo Olympics but failed to qualify for the knockout stage after a dramatic three-way tie for both qualifying places, which was decided on the basis of games won and lost.
Satwik and Chirag are currently in Mumbai for a week of training with Boe to rectify the mistakes that have crept into their game affecting their performance over the past few months.
“We played well, but we lost close games despite our good position. We weren’t able to identify where we were going wrong,” Satwik said.
“So since Boe is here, we thought we’d take the opportunity to train with him for a week before the Asian Championships. The thing with him is that he is very good at analyzing the game and telling us exactly how to work on mistakes. Hope this helps us in the CBA and Thomas Cup. »
While BAI is close to sealing the doubles coaching position, it will take some time to fill the Indian men’s singles coaching position, which has been left vacant following the sudden departure of Indonesian Agus Dwi Santoso. in November last year.
“It’s an important year with major events planned so hard to find someone as most coaches aren’t too keen on making a change at this stage. But we are in the process and hopefully we will have a good coach for the singles players,” Mishra said.
Mishra, who was previously India’s junior coach, said the focus will now be on empowering Indian coaches.
“I think the focus now will be on appointing more Indian coaches, holding them accountable, getting paid at the same level as foreign recruits. It is important for the development of sport in the country. »
Last December, the BAI extended the contracts of the coaching staff, including Indonesian Dwi Kristiawan, with big-budget events like the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
Kristiawan, who was brought in in 2011, Muhammad Miftak, Heri Setiawan, Ade Kurniawan and Eska Riffan Jaya, who helps players in combat, were given extensions until September 30 this year.
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