SANDHU Harinder Pal Singh

General
BACK INJURY
In 2019 his career was threatened by a bulging disc and scoliosis in his back. After undergoing therapy, he was competing again by the end of 2019. "The disc injury in my back resulted in severe nerve infringements and it meant that I could not even stand without support for more than three months. I couldn't bend to touch my knees, and also found it extremely difficult to remove my shirt. I was training really hard [before the injury] and I was hoping that this season [2019] would be the best I've ever had. I was hoping to reach the top 30. I had the tournaments and training planned out. And suddenly out of the blue, it just snapped. Everything went blank. It was in August that I started training and sometimes, I would feel scared about getting injured again. It was like I was starting from scratch as my body had to adjust to the racket swing and footwork." (indianexpress, 12 Jan 2020; sportstar, 11 Oct 2019)

COACHING
While recovering from his back injury in 2019, he served as a coach with the Indian team at the 2019 Asian Individual Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "While I was still undergoing rehabilitation, the opportunity to act as coach with the Indian team in Malaysia also helped me to spend time with the team members and working on their basics. It also helped me to put my mind back in the sport." (indianexpress, 12 Jan 2020; sportstar, 11 Oct 2019)