Denmark’s Mathias Boe likely to return as doubles coach of Indian badminton team for second stint

New Delhi, April 17

Danish legend Mathias Boe is likely to return for a second stint as the doubles coach of the Indian badminton team after Malaysia’s Tan Kim Her declined the offer despite the Sports Ministry approving his appointment.

Boe, a London Olympics silver-medallist and former world No. 1 in doubles, had trained 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 had got the approval of SAI and ministry but then he refused to accept the offer. So he is not coming as of now,” Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary general Sanjay Mishra said. “We are currently in discussion with Mathias Boe. He has the experience of training our players and had done well with Satwik and Chirag. Nothing is finalised yet but we are trying to get his services at least till the Asian Games if not beyond.”

Boe had wanted to continue coaching the Indian doubles players after the Tokyo Olympics but not on a full-time basis, which was not acceptable to BAI.

BAI then got the approval of the Sports Ministry to appoint Tan Kim Her for five years until the 2026 Asian Games, but the Malaysian refused to return for a second stint due to personal reasons.

It was under Boe’s guidance that Rankireddy and Shetty won two of the three matches in their group at the Tokyo Olympics but couldn’t make it to the knockout stage following a dramatic three-way tie for the two qualifying spots. — PTI

Seeking singles coach

The position of the men’s singles coach, vacant since the sudden departure of Indonesia’s Agus Dwi Santoso last November, is still not filled. “It is an important year with major events lined up, so difficult to find someone (replacement) as most of the coaches are not too keen to make a change at this juncture. But we are in the process and hopefully we will get a good coach for the singles players,” Mishra said.

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