Owe everything to Gopi, says Guru Sai
The 33yearold believes his primary objective as a coach is to ensure that the players don’t make the same mistakes he did
R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt, former World No.19 and Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist, says he is really enjoying the transition from a player to a coach.
The 33yearold has played a big role in H.S. Prannoy winning the Malaysia Masters last week.
“Honestly, being with Gopi sir for close to two decades as a player and now as a coach, I owe everything to him. The kind of system he has put in place ensures that the players get everything related to training — those stimulated match conditions being very special,” Guru said in a chat with The Hindu.
“There is a feeling of a whole family working for each other’s cause in the Academy,” he said.
Positive attitude
“Before the Malaysia Masters, Prannoy looked to be short on confidence after the disappointment in the Sudirman Cup earlier. But, with his neversaydie attitude, he could bounce back at the right time,” Guru said. “And, credit should be given to the support staff including physio Sumansh,” he added.
“In the Malaysia Masters, he decided to dig deep in every match. He was not in a hurry with those attacking strokes to score points, because the momentum shifts quickly if something goes wrong with that game. So, even if he had lost four points, he came back strongly with that waiting game to score a point and dominate. This was the decisive factor as it was the long rallies which got him most of his points,”
Guru explained.
He also revealed that he was in constant touch with chief national coach P. Gopi Chand during the Malaysia Masters to get inputs.
“The biggest challenge as a coach is to live up to the expectations of the players. Fortunately, even big achievers like Srikanth entertain healthy conversations. Having played with most of them, my task has definitely been easier,” he said with a big smile.
“The primary objective for me as a coach is to ensure that the players don’t make mistakes which I have committed as a player,” he said.
The kind of system [Gopi Chand] has put in place ensures that the players get everything related to training