Anup Sridhar spent over a decade as one of India’s most dangerous men’s singles players, known for a smash so powerful it was once recorded as the hardest in the sport. Years after retiring from competitive badminton, he found a new kind of spotlight — as the coach brought in to help two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu rebuild her career after the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Quick Facts
| Born | 11 April 1983, Bangalore, Karnataka |
| Playing career | Men’s singles, retired; career-high ranking of 24 (2008) |
| Major honours | Arjuna Award (2007); Commonwealth Games bronze (2006, team) |
| Notable playing wins | Taufik Hidayat (2007 World Championships) |
| Academy | Founded Anup Sridhar Badminton Academy (2018) |
| Notable coaching stints | Lakshya Sen; PV Sindhu (Sept–Dec 2024); Singapore Badminton Association (2025–present) |
Early Life and Playing Career
Anup Sridhar was born on 11 April 1983 in Bangalore, Karnataka. He studied at St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Jain University in Bangalore. He trained under some of Indian badminton’s most respected names — Prakash Padukone, U. Vimal Kumar, and Tom John — at the Padukone-run academy in Bangalore.
Sridhar rose through the national ranks to become India’s national champion in 2005 and 2006, and by 2007 he had established himself as India’s top-ranked player, eventually reaching a career-high world ranking of 24 in 2008. He is remembered as a powerful, attacking singles player who repeatedly punched above his ranking, defeating higher-ranked opponents including former world number one and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.
His best-known international results include a bronze medal with the Indian team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and a run to the fourth round of the 2007 BWF World Championships in Kuala Lumpur — where he beat Hidayat before eventually losing to Lin Dan, becoming only the third Indian, after Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand, to advance that far at a World Championships. Sridhar also represented India at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reaching the second round of the men’s singles draw, and later captained India’s Thomas Cup team.
In recognition of his achievements, the Government of India awarded him the Arjuna Award in 2007, one of the country’s highest sporting honours.
Transition to Coaching
After retiring from competitive play, Sridhar moved into coaching and academy work. In 2018, he founded the Anup Sridhar Badminton Academy, where he worked alongside former shuttler Vijay Lancy to develop young talent. He went on to coach rising men’s singles star Lakshya Sen, helping guide him through a period that included a Paris 2024 Olympic semifinal appearance, before Sridhar’s next high-profile assignment arrived.
Coaching PV Sindhu
In September 2024, following the end of Sindhu’s partnership with Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Santoso after the Paris Olympics, PV Sindhu’s team brought in Sridhar as her new coach on a trial basis, alongside South Korean former world number one Lee Hyun-il, who joined as a consulting coach. Sindhu’s father and former Indian volleyball player, PV Ramana, confirmed the appointment, describing it as an experiment among several names being considered.
The pairing began training together at Hyderabad’s Gachibowli Stadium before travelling for the European swing of the BWF World Tour, including the Arctic Open and the Denmark Open. Sindhu spoke publicly about the appointment, saying she was impressed by Sridhar’s understanding of Indian badminton and his strategic approach to the game.
The partnership produced tangible results relatively quickly: under Sridhar and Lee Hyun-il’s guidance, Sindhu won her first BWF World Tour title since July 2022 at the Syed Modi International in December 2024 — ending a title drought of more than two years.
Sridhar’s stint with Sindhu was always framed as a short-term arrangement, and it concluded around the end of the 2024 season. Early in January 2025, the Badminton Association of India brought in Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama — known for his work with men’s singles stars Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting — as Sindhu’s new women’s singles coach. Sridhar became the eighth coach in Sindhu’s career and the third Indian to hold the role, in a career that has seen her work with a long list of coaches, from her earliest mentor Mahboob Ali through to SM Arif, Pullela Gopichand, Kim Ji-hyun, Park Tae-sang, Vidhi Chaudhary, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, and Agus Dwi Santoso.
Life After Sindhu
Not long after his time with Sindhu ended, Sridhar’s coaching career took an international turn. In January 2025, he signed a long-term deal with the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) to become its singles coach, working alongside South Korean chief coach Kim Ji-hyun. SBA officials pointed to Sridhar’s deep tactical understanding of the game — built over his years coaching both Sindhu and Lakshya Sen — as the reason for the appointment.
Legacy
Though his direct stint guiding Sindhu was brief, it came at a pivotal moment in her career — bridging the gap between the Paris Olympics and a new coaching setup, and helping restore some of her competitive momentum along the way. Combined with his own playing record and his work developing younger Indian talent like Lakshya Sen, Sridhar’s career reflects a broader trajectory common among India’s badminton generation of the 2000s: from giant-killing singles player, to Arjuna Award winner, to trusted coach shaping the sport’s next chapter — both in India and now on the international stage.
