Former Malaysian men’s singles star Hafiz Hashim was hailed as the one of the “most intelligent” players to have retired in the last 20 years by Indian outfit Suchitra Academy.
Hafiz, who was formerly attached to the Badminton Association of Malaysia as their junior coach, got the offer from the Suchitra Academy after his contract ended last year.
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The former All-England champion already arrived in Hyderabad, where the academy is based, and will provide assistance for India’s most famed women’s singles shuttler P. V. Sindhu ahead of the upcoming All England in March.
Suchitra Academy head Pradeep Raju said Hafiz’s appointment was based on his experience competing at the highest level.
“We wanted to make sure our athletes at Suchitra had a great coach. Hafiz is a former All England champ who has played at the highest level and has the knowledge. Anyone who’s played at that level knows how to face challenges and adapt to win.
“Of the players who retired in the last 20 years, he was one of the most intelligent,” Pradeep told The Indian Express.
Hafiz will not be Sindhu’s direct coach, but will rather help her through his experience when the Indian comes to train at the academy once or twice a week.
Sindhu recently split with former coach Park Tae-Sang after a string of early round exits, with the final straw coming when she lost in the first round of the Malaysia Open and India Open this year.
Sucithra Academy signed Hafiz, who retired from his playing career in 2017, to a three-year deal with an option to extend beyond that.
Hafiz’s biggest career achievement was winning the 2003 All-England, where he beat then Chinese superstar Chen Hong in straight games.
The 40-year-old was also a Commonwealth Games gold medalist, besides having the Swiss Open (2005), Thailand Open (2005), Dutch Open (2005) and Philippines Open (2006) titles to his name.
Besides his individual success, the Kota-Bharu born also helped Malaysia to silver at the 2002 Thomas Cup and bronze at the 2009 Sudirman Cup.
