From Sindhu’s Olympic Bronze to Two Straight Titles, Park Tae-Sang Builds India’s Next Stars

Park Tae-Sang has already experienced the challenge of guiding an established champion to Olympic success. Now, the South Korean coach is taking on a different mission, building India’s next generation of badminton stars.

The early signs are encouraging.

In the space of two weeks, 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma and 26-year-old Ashmita Chaliha won consecutive BWF Super 300 titles. Tanvi claimed her maiden BWF title at the Taipei Open, before Ashmita completed a remarkable comeback from a career-threatening knee injury to win the Korea Masters.

For Park Tae-Sang, the two victories are more than just trophies. They are proof that his long-term work with younger Indian players is beginning to produce results.

“It’s been an amazing two weeks,” Park said after Ashmita’s victory. “Last week, Tanvi was also amazing. She is only 17 and won her first BWF-level title.”

Park previously spent four years working with PV Sindhu, a partnership that culminated in her winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. After that stint, he accepted the challenge of working with younger players at India’s National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati.

“With Sindhu, she was already a world champion. This time, I thought, let’s start from the beginning. I will build these players myself,” he said.

But Park is not allowing the recent success to raise expectations too quickly. His bigger target is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The qualifying race begins next year, and he wants Tanvi and Ashmita to gradually move into 500, 750 and 1000-level tournaments.

Park believes the biggest improvements must come in endurance, mental strength and on-court speed. He also wants his players to remain calm when matches become difficult.

His benchmark is world No. 1 An Se-young, whose consistency and physical strength he wants his players to emulate.

With Devika Sihag, Unnati Hooda, Tanvi and Ashmita pushing each other, Park believes Indian women’s singles is developing greater depth.

For now, the back-to-back titles are only the beginning. Park’s larger ambition is to turn India’s emerging talent into world-class players capable of challenging for Olympic glory.