Harinder Pal Sandhu roped in as coach by SDAT

CHENNAI: India international

Harinder

Pal Sandhu has been roped in as the new elite coach by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), confirmed Squash Rackets Federation of India (

SRFI

) secretary

Cyrus Poncha

on Friday. "Harinder's contract is for one year and his primary role is to promote and develop squash in Tamil Nadu," said Poncha, adding that the 34-year-old will focus on grooming young talent.
Harinder has enjoyed good success in his playing career, having won three gold and two bronze medals in the

Asian Games

. In 2018, he reached a career-high ranking of 47 in singles. For his grind over the years, Harinder was bestowed with the

Arjuna Award

earlier this month.
Poncha welcomed the move to appoint Harinder as coach, saying, "Having played the sport for close to two decades, Harinder brings in a wealth of knowledge and experience. And in India, we do not have many players with vast experience. He will be training both the seniors and juniors."
'Coaching aspiration'

Harinder is familiar with coaching, having completed the level 1 and level 2 course by

World Squash Federation

. "I would like to thank SDAT, SRFI and TNSRFA for giving me the opportunity to train future generations. I am familiar with this role, as I have coached the senior players (India team) before during the Asian Championships in Malaysia in 2019. Prior to this, I had done level 1 and level 2 coaching from

WSF

. This course helped me understand the mindset of a coach," said Harinder.

"Having played in the international circuit, I can pass the information on how to play against elite players in the foreign meets. Sometimes, players get caught up by playing in the national circuit. I can help them understand what is happening on the international tour," added Harinder.
"I am yet to give up on my playing career and will continue to play in select tournaments abroad after charting out a plan with SDAT. I have the experience of coaching the senior team but now it will be a different challenge to train the younger ones.