B. Sai Praneeth returns to India as coach, to travel with team for Thailand Masters
Former World Championships medallist B Sai Praneeth has returned to the domestic fold in a coaching role at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, marking a shift from overseas assignments to hands-on involvement in India’s high-performance system.
The 33-year-old, who retired from international badminton in 2024, will also travel with the Indian team for the USD 250,000 Thailand Masters Super 300 tournament, his first assignment with the national contingent since taking up coaching.
Praneeth, a 2019 world championships bronze winner, had spent close to a year and a half in the United States as head coach at Triangle Badminton club after stepping away from competitive badminton.
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“Sai Praneeth has been stationed in Hyderabad for some time now and has been working closely at the Gopichand Academy. He knows the players well and has been involved with our existing coaching group, including Guru and Kashyap,” Sanjay Mishra, Secretary, Badminton Association of India (BAI) told PTI.
“While he is yet to be formally empanelled, he has applied for SAI empanelment and the process is due in course. With our senior coaches unavailable due to personal commitments for the Thailand Masters, we felt it will be good to send someone who is already part of the larger coaching environment and understands the training systems that best suits the team.” Praneeth joined the Gopichand academy a month-and-a-half back after discussions with the national coaching set-up.
“He had come to India as part of US team for the world Junior Badminton Championships in October. He wanted to be a part of India’s coaching system. He discussed was BAI and Gopichand about his interest to return home,” a source in the know of things said.
A 2017 Singapore Open champion and Tokyo Olympian, Praneeth applied for the India coach’s position.
His application has been forwarded by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
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An Arjuna awardee, Praneeth has been training the likes of Tharun Manepalli, Priyanshu Rajawat, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and other juniors such as Rakshitha Ramraj, Shriyanshi Valishetty in the academy along with RMV Gurusaidutt and Parupalli Kashyap.
A former world number 10, Praneeth’s induction comes at a time when Indian badminton is attempting to strengthen its domestic coaching base.
In January 2026, a government task force led by national head coach Gopichand submitted a report recommending structural reforms to reduce dependence on foreign coaches.
Last June, the BAI also rolled out an annual Rs 9.75 crore plan to bolster indigenous coaching and talent development pathways.
Published on Jan 21, 2026