Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopi Chand pauses at the mention of Pusarla Venkata Sindhu. Not without reason. “She has the potential to make it big. In fact, if she continues to improve, she can be a Saina Nehwal in the making,” he says.
In her second appearance at the Indian Open Grand Prix tournament, held in Hyderabad recently, Sindhu stunned spectators with a performance that took her to the semifinals, where she lost to the more experienced Fransiska Ratnasari of Indonesia in three games. This defeat notwithstanding, she has impressed followers of the game with her talent.
“She might have lost to Ratnasari but the way she attacked and won points at the Indian Open was really impressive. She has the aggression and the strokes. Above all, she tries her best. She is just 15 now and, in another two years, as she gains more exposure, you will see her make big strides like Saina,” says the former All England champion.
Sindhu, who has been following a strict physical-fitness regimen, says: “I enjoy working hard. I am a fan of Saina and Gopi and admire their game and work ethic. They are my role models,” she says.
It is not only Gopi who is impressed with this youngster. Former international Sanjay Sharma says: “She is undoubtedly talented and plays a very aggressive game. She is one for the future.”
At the Indian Open, this 5-foot-10-inch girl was in full flow, unleashing her entire repertoire of strokes. Sindhu, with her long reach, covers the court well and is good at the net. The leaping smash is her forte. Gopi says flaws in her game — particularly in defence — are being ironed out. “We need to tighten her defence. She will learn as she plays in bigger tournaments,” he says.
Sport runs in Sindhu’s blood. Her father, PV Ramana, was a member of the 1986 Asian Games volleyball team that won a bronze medal at Seoul.
Her mother, Vijaya, was a national-level player. With six-footer Ramana having been a powerful spiker in his time, old timers, seeing Sindhu smash the badminton shuttlecock, are reminded of Ramana on the volleyball court.
Interestingly, Sindhu has never been interested in volleyball. “She took a liking to badminton after seeing Gopi on television. At the age of eight, her parents approached Mehboob Ali to coach her and later moved her to Mohammad Arif’s camp at the Lal Bahadur Stadium. Ever since the Pullela Gopi Chand Academy came up at Gachibowli, Sindhu has been training there.
Sindhu won her first title in 2005 in Kochi in the under-10 category. Her first national title came in the sub-junior championship at Dehradun in 2007. In 2009, she won both the sub-junior singles and doubles titles. This year, at the sub-junior and junior national championships, Sindhu swept the titles.
Sindhu has also made her mark in international age-group events — she finished 5th in the Asian Sub-Junior Championship in Colombo last year and 3rd at the World Championship in Mexico this year. She seems to be following in the footsteps of Saina, who dominated the junior scene before bursting onto the big stage. And given her potential, she can achieve her goals.
das@expressbuzz.com