Doubles coach Arun Vishnu ends national role

Arun was the main women’s and mixed doubles coach under whom Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto qualified for the Paris Olympics despite all the odds. He also helped Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand clinch the Syed Modi India International in Lucknow last month among other laurels apart from also coaching Tanisha and Dhruv Kapila in mixed doubles.

“I am starting my own academy with my wife in Nagpur. It will be called the Arundhati Arun Badminton Academy. It will open in March and (chief national coach Pullela) Gopichand will be coming for the opening,” Arun, a multiple-time former national champion, said on Friday.

“We decided to make the move after the BWF World Tour Finals where Treesa and Gayatri were playing (in Hangzhou) in December.”

Arun was the chief reason why Treesa and Gayatri are currently ranked No.9 in the world while Ashwini and Tanisha qualified for the Olympics despite pairing up quite late in the Race to Paris. He guided both the pairs to multiple titles, including helping India women win the Asia Team Championships for the first time in 2022.

“We have been planning for the last few months and decided to take the plunge. The venue will be a Sports Authority of India (SAI) building which we will be taking on rent. We will be also shifting our base from Hyderabad to Nagpur which is Arundhati’s hometown.”

Former India internationals B Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri have already taken charge of India’s women’s and mixed doubles shuttlers where they will be assisting Tan Kim Her. Both Sumeeth and Manu are assisting Indian shuttlers at the $950,000 India Open here.