What a week! PV Sindhu’s World Championship gold has to be at the top of it all. Add to it B Sai Praneeth’s bronze, 36 years after Prakash Padukone’s. For Indian sports enthusiasts, another great sight was that of a youngster holding his own against one of the greatest players of modern tennis in a Grand Slam, taking a set off of him. That’s what Sumit Nagal did at US Open.
It would be sacrilege to not take note of Ben Stokes’ sensational century in the Ashes.
Jonathan Liew of The Independent fished out 30 innings that changed course of matches. He placed VVS Laxman’s 281 against Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001 at fourth, behind Brian Lara’s 153 not out against Australia in Bridgetown in 1999. Stokes is second on that list. For once, India’s massive 318-run win over West Indies had to take a back seat.
It has taken three years and five days for Sindhu to shed the tag of a choker in the finals, even though she is seen as a big player. It is unfair to call it choking, when a youngster is battling against fitter, technically-superior opponents.
It all started with her losing the 2016 Rio Olympics final to Carolina Marin, who beat her again in the World Championships last year. The year before, Sindhu lost the previous year’s final to Nozomi Okuhara.
From Rio onwards, Sindhu has played one major final every year. In Rio, she overcame both Tai Tzu-ying and Okuhara en route her silver; two players whom she found difficult to cope with. In between, she took out Chinese Wang Yihan, and she beat all of them in straight games. That’s something special, and now she’s proved that that wasn’t a fluke.
What one saw from Sindhu in Basel was flawless badminton. She picked up everything that came across the net. That showed how fit she is now.
Well before the Worlds, Sindhu had said that she was going to concentrate on her fitness and technique. In pursuit of her twin goals, she skipped Thailand Open. Coach Pullela Gopichand did well to get Korean Kim Ji-hyun — who trained former World No 2 Sung Ji-hyun — to take Sindhu under her wings so that he could concentrate on producing more talent.
Though Gopichand was there to watch her protégé capture the Worlds, it was Kim who egged Sindhu on. In four months, she has made a big difference to Sindhu’s game and temperament. She must have noticed her potential watching from Sung’s corner as both her Korean and Indian wards are tied 8-8 in their 16 meetings.
One saw a new-look Sindhu on court. To reduce the final of a major event into a no-contest cannot be attributed to a sudden loss of form of her opponent, who had fought out a tough semifinal against Ratchanok Intanon. Sindhu’s netplay has improved as she now lunges for drops and dribbles them over with surety. Her smashing is no longer blindly smacking the shuttle. There is subtlety in her attack and placement.
Gopichand had said the early defeat of World No 1 Akane Yamaguchi cleared Sindhu’s path, but that would not have made so much of a difference.
One thought Praneeth would be inspired by his first two meetings with World No 1 Kento Momota six years ago, which he won. But the Japanese was too good and went on to win gold easily. India could not have celebrated Sports Day in a more joyous atmosphere, with badminton joining shooting and wrestling for big things.
(The writer is a veteran commentator and the views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sveturi@gmail.com)