HYDERABAD: When one talks about PV Sindhu, the first thing that comes to mind is her Olympic silver medal in Rio last year. We often forget the laurels that she won before performing at the grandest stage of all. She won two World Championship bronze medals before that, in 2013 and 2014, which makes her the only Indian shuttler with two medals at the event.
With experience by her side, Sindhu is gearing up to take her World Championship tally to three, at the event beginning in Glasgow on August 21.
The 22-year-old last featured in the Australian Open Super Series in June, and has since then taken time off tournaments, just to focus on training for the big one.
With everyone expecting her to bring a medal again, the Hyderabadi is not bogged down by expectations and just wants to give it her best.
“Well there are expectations always, and they have increased since Rio, but I have a long way to go and need to keep working hard for that. We have two Indonesian coaches who are devising plans for my game and taking care of our fitness as well,” Sindhu told Express.
With Sindhu, it is a case of ‘been there, done that’, as far as the World Championship is concerned, and the feeling of having done well at the prestigious tournament should do her confidence a world of good.
“It takes a lot of dedication and hard work for a player to win medals at the World Championship. One of the key is how well you adapt to the conditions in the tournament. This will be my priority when I go for the championship,” Sindhu said.
Trupti Murgunde, a former national champion and now coach with the Indian junior team, feels Sindhu should be wary of getting complacent. Often that leads to a player’s downfall.
“Sindhu should not get complacent. It’s a great achievement to get two World Championship medals, but she should eye gold now. If she sets that target, she will be motivated to perform better. After the Australian Open, she took some time off from tournaments, that allowed her to go back to the drawing board and train hard.
Also, that would keep her tournament fresh,” Trupti said. Drawn in the top half, Sindhu has already got a bye in the first round, and should sail through the quarters. But it is there that the real test awaits her. She could bump into Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon.
“I don’t think Sindhu will be troubled much till the quarterfinals. After that she will have to put her best foot forward. Having said that, I have to admit that she has a good chance of winning a medal. It all depends on how one plays on a given day,” Trupti concluded.
madhav@newindianexpress.com