PETALING JAYA: Home is still Hyderabad for now for former All-England champion Hafiz Hashim.
Hafiz, who moved to India as a coach with Suchitra Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, has no plans to return home yet as his contract runs until February 2026.
In fact, he is fine with doing development work abroad although it does not get much limelight.
“I’ll be here for a while more. I do miss working at home but I’m happy to be here too. My family is here with me,” said Hafiz, who took the challenge to coach India in December 2023.
“Home is where your family is, and Hyderabad is my home now, although the traffic here can be crazy. I miss peaceful driving at home.”
On the badminton court though, Hafiz had been focusing on the juniors, where the coaches’ ability is tested to the limit.
“We have not had much achievements at the higher level, the focus had been on pushing for success at the local tournaments,” said Hafiz.
“I do have many of my players taking part in the International Challenge and Series (Badminton World Federation lower-tier tournaments) but it’s still very much early exposure for them.”
The system in India is different from Malaysia.
They bank on the club system to produce the talents to the national team, where the best get to compete in major tournaments like Asian Games, World Championships and team events.
In fact, a top club player can represent a major tournament.
This year, India led by senior P.V. Sindhu, shocked Thailand 3-2 in the women’s team final at the Asia Team Championships. Besides Olympian Sindhu, their top doubles pair Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and singles youngster Anmol Kharb delivered the points.
Anmol is a club player while Priya Konjengbam-Shruti Mishara from Hafiz’s academy also played and gained invaluable experience although they lost.
“To be a coach is not easy, it’s easier to be a player. Not many want to be a coach as they fear the criticism if they fail to produce a good player. I’m enjoying it though as badminton is my passion,” added Hafiz.
