Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu was out of action for four-five months last year. It helped the young shuttler focus mentally on the game and come out an improved player. The fact she played fewer tournaments last year allowed her work on fitness and develop her game.
“It is not easy for a tall person to be agile. From the last 12 and half months we focused on working out. I did not have many tournaments last year and it allowed me to wok on agility, endurance, we worked on everything,” she said after she, coach Pullela Gopichand, physio Kiran Challagundla and parents P.V. Ramana and P. Vijaya were felicitated by Olympic Gold Quest here on Wednesday.
Sindhu’s jump smash stood out during the Olympics and she admitted it was becoming one of her weapons. “It was very helpful in this tournament. Gopi sir had always told me to use it, but I never tried it. Initially it was a bit tough as all my strokes kept going into the net. Later, everything went well and everyone started asking me about it. My dad likes it.”
The time off also helped her to develop the aggression to focus on every point. “Aggression should always there on the court, everyone wants that each point.
“Sindhu lost 4-5 month last year so we planned for the Olympics and it turned out to be perfect with God’s grace. She was at her fittest in those two weeks and she played big points, everything fell in place,” Gopichand said.
Reflecting on her Olympic journey, Sindhu said she had to plan and strategise for every opponent.
Sindhu now has a couple of events line up — Denmark Open, Paris Open, Dubai World Superseries finals and All England Open — and she vowed to work harder. “Responsibilities are high and everyone’s eyes are on me. This is just the beginning. I need to work harder,” she said.
