Badminton: Saina Nehwal to split with coach Pullela Gopichand

Hyderabad: After a quarterfinal exit in the recent World Badminton Championships in Denmark, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal will now train with former India coach Vimal Kumar ahead of the Asian Games later this month.

It is not the first time that the duo split. In 2011, Saina started training with Baskar Babu but within three months returned to Gopichand, regretting her decision.

According to reports, Saina will train in Bangalore for 15 days ahead of the Asian Games. However, it may also turn out to be a long-term arrangement as Gopichand has been dedicating more time in nurturing other upcoming stars PV Sindhu and K Srikanth.

Saina is the only Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton.