Don’t regret losing close finals
IN THE PRESENT Rio silver medallist wants to keep winning and stay relaxed, which she believes will help top the rankings in 2018
NEW DELHI: Ever since she reached the 2016 Rio Olympics final, PV Sindhu has become a household name in India. Even those fans who don’t follow badminton closely are keen to know more about the 22-year-old, arguably the biggest youth icon among women athletes in the country.
In a tete-e-tete with Hindustan Times on Friday, the world No 3 from Hyderabad opened up on a variety of topics, including her craving for junk food, love for the camera and a ‘no regret’ attitude. Excerpts
I won Superseries events, did well at the World Championships and the Dubai Superseries final too, where I was runner-up. It has been a really good year because I have been improving. Of course, 2016 was big because of the Olympic silver but 2017 has been fantastic. really well.
The level of competition among the top 15-20 players is quite equal. You can’t take it easy because of a player’s ranking. It is never going to be easy. I want to see myself as No 1. If you play well and win tournaments, you will automatically be No 1. There is no pressure of rankings. Yes, life has changed since
Rio, on and off the court. I’ve got a lot of confidence; On and off the court, responsibilities have increased. People start expecting more from you. People come to me asking for pictures, autographs. I really enjoy it because when I was young and looking up to someone else who was in the limelight, I also wanted to be there. Once you are there you have to enjoy it, which I am doing. But I don’t get to have my own time because I keep travelling a lot and playing tournaments, so I just go abroad and shop. A lot. I have trained under him since I was under 10 years old. Earlier, whenever I lost points, I used to get nervous or sad because I would think about those points. That has changed a lot because we’ve been training on that. He has really helped me become strong, mentally, physically.
Being on court is much more difficult. If you play and get there and are at the top, then you get everything... I enjoy being in front of the camera I eat both burgers and pizzas and once in a while it is fine. Sometimes may be ice cream and chocolates. I just love junk food.
I need to keep myself fit, work harder, be happy and see myself as No 1.