Sindhu is working on mistakes
DECCAN CHRONICLE
Reigning world badminton champion P. V. Sindhu, who hasn’t had the best of starts in 2020, has vowed to learn from her mistakes as she gears up for the All England Open, to be held in Birmingham from March 11.
“I have been working on my mistakes. There’s a lot of time to prepare for the All England Open and I feel my preparations have been good. I hope, I do well,” Sindhu said on the sidelines of laying the foundation stone for the P. V. Sindhu Badminton Academy the Lalaji Memorial Omega International School here.
The 24-year-old, who has had an up-and-down run since winning the world at title in Basel last year, said she was working really hard on her defence ahead of the important tournaments.
“It’s not like I have been playing bad. I have made a few mistakes which I shouldn’t have made. I would say they were unforced errors at crucial moments of the contest. I am working on it. I will also have to work on my defence and be a little more patient during rallies,” said Sindhu.
The star shuttler revealed that she has been practising meditation technique from the Heartfulness organisation for more than nine months and it has helped her stay calm.
“Generally, when you play matches, you might feel pressure and people’s expectations are a lot more and you actually take it to yourself like a responsibility. That’s when meditation helps here; it keeps you calm and keeps you going,” Sindhu added.
The Hyderabad ace feels that the standard of the sports has improved. “The standard is so high that little separates the top 15 players in the women’s section,” she said.
“At the Olympics, you have to wait and watch who is going to do well, because everybody is working hard for Tokyo,” she added.
Earlier in January, chief national coach Pullela Gopichand had asked Sindhu to stop complaining about the badminton calendar and adapt. Sindhu clarified: “It’s not that I am complaining about having back-to-back tournaments. We need to choose our tournaments carefully. But there’s not much time to actually practice and not make those mistakes again. Your coach might say ‘this is where you are making a mistake’ but then there isn’t much time to rectify it.”
Sindhu, who is currently sixth on the BWF rankings and is on track for the direct qualification to the Olympics, said people’s expectation is not an added pressure. “I don’t have any expectations on myself but expectations from others are a lot more. Definitely, I am working hard for it. It’s not that I am taking any pressure on myself. I know that I will do well. But I have to understand the importance of staying positive. From 2016 to 2020, a lot has changed in my game and my life,” she said.