Ace Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu feels that because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — which has put all sporting activities on hold — it might be a good opportunity to get former players in the country to double up as coaches for athletes.

“If the global pandemic continues, bringing coaches from abroad might become difficult, there are a lot of good players in our country who have played at international level, and we can use them in a coaching capacity,” Sindhu said on Tuesday.

She was speaking in an online session for the newly appointed Assistant Directors at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) moderated by Nandan Kamath of GoSports Foundation.

Speaking to the young administrators, Sindhu also stressed on the importance of parents, coaches, administrators working as a team to build up a champion.

“The administrators must know the journey of every sportsperson. The future of Indian sports lies in the hands of young sports administrators like all of you. You must visit all the SAI regional centres and be aware of the performances from the players and be in touch with their parents,” the current world champion said.

“The parent’s involvement is a lot and you need to take feedback from them. This feedback needs to be monitored. Moreover players must be continuously tracked to avoid age fraud.

“You must also understand how the SAI coaching system works and if athletes are receiving the right diet and supplements at the various centres,” she added.

Speaking of her own 2016 Olympic silver and her parents’ role, Sindhu said the sacrifices that parents make is something that often doesn’t get the importance it deserves.

“Before the Rio Olympics we shifted to the academy. My mother gave up her job to care for me. My father took two years leave from his job. The challenge was recovering from the injury I suffered in 2015.

“I used to sit and play in the academy. I had to play 23 tournaments in a year to even qualify for the Olympics.

“My father taking leave from his service really helped me. He used to take me to the Railways ground.”

She also complimented the government for schemes such as Khelo India for propping up various sports from the grassroot level and urged other organisations to do the same.