‘Every point was exhausting’
Seoul, Sept. 17: P. V. Sindhu on Sunday said the heart-breaking World Championship final loss was not on her mind when she was plotting the downfall of Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara enroute to her Korea Open title.
“I had lost to her after being 19-17 in the World Championship but I didn’t keep that in my mind even though there were long rallies. I kept telling myself next point is important. I had to control the shuttle very much, so there was nothing in my mind,” Sindhu told reporters after being asked if the epic final was on her mind.
“I dedicate this Victory for our beloved Prime Minister Shri Modiji on his Birthday for his untiring and self less services to our Country,” Sindhu tweeted later.
Talking about the final, Sindhu said: “I’m playing her again after playing in the World Championship and each point was very exhausting. In the first game, we were equal at 2020 and I changed the course and won the game.”
“In the second game all were going out, I couldn’t control the shuttle. It was a huge lead even if I would have tried so I lost easy. In the third game, each and every point was important, even though I was leading at 11 points she came back and after 11 points, every point witnessed big rallies like the World Championship and nobody was leaving,” she added.
With Sindhu and Okuhara playing back-to-back finals, expectations are high that they might clash again at the Japan Superseries Premier next week.
Asked if she would play rather someone else in the finals, Sindhu said: “It is nothing like that, anybody is fine. It is the second time immediately after the World Championship that I am playing her in a final.
“Even earlier everybody used to say it would be Carolina Marin but now they are saying may be it would be Okuhara again at Japan but I guess you have to play one or the other and you have to beat them to win,” she added.
National chief coach Pullela Gopichand said Sindhu worked on her attacking game ahead of the Korea Open and playing well in the other Superseries events will be important. “We prepared a bit on the attacking side, not that we had a great amount of time but we tried to cover the mistakes that she committed at Glasgow in whatever time we had to prepare for Korea,” he said.
“I think there is Japan next week which is a Premier Superseries, there is Denmark, France, China and Hong Kong. It is important that we focus on one at a time before the yearender at Dubai final,” he said.