HYDERABAD : IT is not every day that you get to walk around with a World Championships silver medal in your possession, especially if you are an Indian athlete. Back at the Pullela Gopichand Academy on Tuesday after a stupendous display at Worlds, PV Sindhu had the medal in her right pocket. However, the expected brouhaha was conspicuous by its absence. Medals of the same colour had evoked fanatic reactions from media and fans post Rio and last year’s Worlds. It has been two years since she was placed under the scanner for faltering at final hurdles. The debate started right after the Rio Olympics and picked up momentum each time she ‘choked’ in a final.
She has lost three big summit clashes since the last quadrennial extravaganza: 2017 Worlds, 2017 World Superseries Finals and 2018 Worlds. Losing four finals this year (including the Worlds) has only added fuel to the fire. Accompanied by her guru Gopichand, she answered the usual questions that are volleyed at her each time she comes back with a silver. “I am used to it, now. It does not really bother me since many people congratulate me as well. I take it in my stride,” she said with a laugh when asked whether the criticism gets to her. She reasserted that there is no ‘final phobia’. When similar questions were put forth to the chief national coach, he said that focusing only on the finals was ‘easy’.
“It is very easy to just look at the performance in the final. It is very important to focus on the positives that came just before the final. To perform so well against players like (Nozomi) Okuhara in the quarterfinal and (Akane) Yamaguchi in the semis is no mean feat. It is quite easy to dissect just the final. Winning four medals at Worlds is very special,” Gopichand explained. The coach expects Sindhu to concentrate only on the positives.
“As a player, I want her to look at only the positives, as she has been doing really well,” the 2001 All England winner opined. Up until the quarters, it had appeared that India might come back with multiple medals — just like last year when Sindhu and Saina Nehwal had finished on the podium. Saina, B Sai Praneeth and the mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were all just one win away from medalling. Though he sounded a little disappointed with the early exits of Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy, Gopichand seemed satisfied with the overall showing. “On the whole, the performance was satisfactory.
The way the doubles players performed is commendable. Srikanth and Prannoy could have done better, though.” The new BWF calendar, after the implementation of revised rules, also played a role. “It is very tricky to train players for different tournaments on such short notice. Some players reacted to this in a better way and performed,” he said. With the Asiad just ten days away, Gopichand and his students have their task cut out. “There is very little time to prepare. I hope we perform better this time,” Sindhu signed off. vishal@newindianexpress.com