The signs were there when Saina Nehwal warmly walked up to Pullela Gopichand in the aftermath of the World Championships final where PV Sindhu lost to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the final. It took only a week for Saina to announce the decision to work with Gopichand again. Here's the whats and whys behind this move.
How did Saina's first stint under Gopichand pan out?
Saina first made headlines after reaching the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics as a 18-year-old, and broke the glass ceiling for Indian badminton at a time when it was at danger of slipping out of people's minds. However, it would not have been possible for her without Gopi, with whom she signed up in 2006 as a raw teenager. She won her first big title when she won the Indonesia Open (Superseries) in 2009. Saina then went from strength to strength under Gopi's guidance, winning another five Superseries titles besides a bronze medal at the London Olympics.
So why did she end the partnership?
After winning that bronze in 2012, Saina's form plateaued; she failed to win a single major title in 2013 and won only one Superseries title till August 2014. On the other hand, Sindhu won back-to-back medals at the Worlds in 2013 and 2014.
As Gopi's academy grew larger and his responsibilities increased, Saina then felt that she needed greater individual attention. And she split with Gopi in September 2014 and said at the time to The Times of India: "Yes, I am going to Bangalore tomorrow. I want to train with Vimal Kumar Sir. His tips during the Uber Cup were quite helpful. But after the Asian Games I will come back here. I just want to try and train with him. I hope it will be helpful for me. I told Gopi Sir during the World Championships and he said OK."
What changed under Vimal?
Saina got the personal attention she yearned for and she started to do better at the biggest tournaments - namely the Worlds and the All England Championships (reaching the finals of both in 2015) - and, in March 2015, reached No 1 in the world rankings.
She was one of the favourites entering the Rio Olympics, going into it having won a Superseries title in Australia, but a terrible knee injury before Rio - which flared up again on court at the Olympics - put paid to a medal repeat.
Having failed to win a Superseries title in more than a year, Saina recently looked to be regaining her best form at the Worlds, where she won a bronze after losing to the eventual champion in the semi-finals.
So why return to Hyderabad?
Two words: Mulyo Handoyo. This has easily been India's most successful year on the circuit, with Indians winning two Worlds medals and four Superseries titles so far. Saina apart, all the other victories have come from Gopi's wards and all followed the arrival, in February, of Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo at Gopi's academy.
Under Handoyo, the men (especially Praneeth and Srikanth) have become fitter and have also improved at winning longer rallies (Srikanth and Prannoy). Saina, meanwhile, has struggled to win consecutive matches where she has been stretched to three games (Indonesia and Thailand) and Handoyo's longer training sessions may help her to improve her mobility. In Hyderabad, Saina might not get the individual attention that she has needed in the past but she will have the advantage of training with better players.