Sindhu admits need to find new tricks
NEW DELHI: Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu says she will be marked by opponents after her World Championships gold and will need to constantly discover “new things” in her game to maintain her stranglehold on international badminton.
The 2016 Olympic silver medallist Sindhu thrashed Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in a lop-sided final at Basel, Switzerland last month, becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Championships.
Asked about the challenges she will face from now on, Sindhu, who boasts of two silvers and as many bronze medals at the World Championships, said, “Pressure and responsibility will now be more. I know everybody will mark me now after the World Championships.
“Now I have to really work harder and change a few things and come with new things because everyone can see my game and know what I am playing. So I have to go with a new strategy every time I go into the court,” Sindhu told reporters.
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad said the World Championships’ gold medal was a long time coming and credits the result to a mixture of hard work, as well as all the sacrifices her parents have made over the years.
“I have been wanting this gold for five years. I have been losing every time. I also used to feel sad, but I always kept fighting back and working hard. My parents made a lot of sacrifices for me,” she said. Sindhu added further, “Coaches role also has been important. My first coach was Mehboob Ali and then I have been under Gopi (Pullela Gopichand) sir since I was 10. In badminton, you need to have a strong mindset.”
SINDHU WILL NEXT PLAY AT THE CHINA OPEN WORLD TOUR SUPER 1000, (SEPT 17-22) AND KOREA OPEN WORLD TOUR SUPER 500 (SEPT24-29)
NEXT UP
Sindhu will be seen playing next at the China Open World Tour Super 1000, (September 17-22) and Korea Open World Tour Super 500 (September 24-29) in Changzhou and Incheon City respectively. “I am preparing for China and Korea Open, I will be leaving in a few days, that is my immediate goal. I hope to give my best,” she said on the sidelines of the PNB Metlife Junior Badminton Championship (JBC). “This medal gave a big boost and I will move with this confidence. There are many events before Olympics, so I will just give 100 per cent instead of taking pressure,” she said.
Asked if there was any pressure ahead of the World Championships final, Sindhu said, “There was no pressure in the final. The quarter-final was one of the good matches against Tai Tzu. Playing (against) Okuhara, everyone was saying whether I will repeat the 2017 final but for me I was not thinking about that. It was a fresh match for me. We knew each others’ games, as we have played a lot against each other. So there was no particular strategy,” she said.
National coach Gopichand had recently said that India have not ‘invested enough in coaches’. Asked about her opinion on the issue, Sindhu said, “There needs to be high level coaches, where they need to know everything about badminton to create a champion. Of course, Gopi sir himself has been a great player and a great coach. Now we have other coaches from abroad and they are helping us. But national coaches need to be much qualified. Then can then definitely train more players who will become champions.” Talking about the role of Korean coach Kim Ji Hyun, Sindhu said, “For the last couple of months, I have been training with Kim under the guidance of Gopi sir. It is not just one stroke, each stroke is important; we have to make each stroke perfect. We have been working on defence and front and back court and that really helped me.”