Ygor Coelho has had an uneven time since making his comeback from last year’s hip surgery. There have been several first round losses, with the odd good result at lower-tier events.

While he has recovered physically, the Brazilian believes he has some way to go to regain the competitive edge.

“After the Olympics, I had two months (away from competition). My first tournament was the Dutch Open and I feel like it was the beginning again. I felt all the pressure,” said Coelho, during last week’s YONEX French Open 2021.

In the two tournaments since the Olympics, Coelho said he felt “insecure”.

“The Dutch Open was my first tournament after the Olympics. I lost to Daniel Nikolov; I felt insecure and not comfortable. Right now my mental side is still up and down. It’s because I spent a year without playing, so I’m struggling to come back.

“I have completely recovered (from the hip surgery). I feel my movements are better. It’s been one year since the surgery and I’m happy to come back to this level and I hope to keep it. After Tokyo, I signed on for one more year with my club in Denmark, but my plan for Paris 2024 is to train in Asia and compete in India, Korea, Japan, try to be more professional than I was. I’ve been playing in the league in Denmark. I train in the club but my plan is to more with other players and other teams.”

Coelho is contemplating various options in the run-up to Paris 2024 – including a personal coach, working together as a team with other Pan Am players, and training in Asia, which he has previously done.

“I’m looking for a coach to travel with me. I need to talk with my federation about it… I’m also looking for a group. That’s going to be a very good thing, players from America for example, that can be a possibility. It’s hard to come and play alone, the pressure is hard. It’s hard to turn around. There will be others to push you.

“I didn’t think about it earlier, because I was training with the national team in France. Then I had a club coach, and then the pandemic happened. But now my federation wants me to play in Paris and improve. I will talk to them after Hylo Open and see what I can do in future.

“My experience at Tokyo 2020 was good, I won a match, it was the first victory for my country. But against (Kanta) Tsuneyama, he showed me I still have a long way to go.

That’s my goal, to keep up my level, and Paris 2024 is just two years away. It’s on my mind. I still have the level to play. I don’t have the condition yet. I need a coach, at least, to help me to plan and improve. I trained here (Paris) with Loh Kean Yew during the practice sessions. So my plan is to go and train at various places and learn.”

Coelho will next be seen in action at the Hylo Open 2021.

Click here for results of Hylo Open 2021