CHENNAI: All eyes are on world champion PV Sindhu in the Chennai leg of Premier Badminton League (PBL), which began on Monday at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The Hyderabad Hunters shuttler started on a winning note, defeating coach Pullela Gopichand’s daughter Gayatri in straight sets.
Although her team ended up losing the tie to Chennai Superstarz, Sindhu saw a lot of positives, especially in terms of the big picture, aka Tokyo Olympics.“We get to play with top-quality players in PBL, like Tai Tzu-ying. This is helpful in an Olympic year. We get to learn a lot from foreign players, who come up with useful inputs. Even I get to improve some aspects of my game by interacting with them.
There is time before the Olympics. We have a couple of important events in the run-up. For now, my focus is on helping my team in PBL. I just want to play my game and enjoy.”
Sindhu is aware that expectations will be high this year. But her approach to 2020 is going about the task in a gradual manner.
“From 2016 (Rio Olympics) to now, my life has changed a lot. I won a lot and I lost some. I’ve been improving step by step. In Rio, I was not that popular. Expectations were low. Now people want gold from me. I take this in a very positive way. I don’t consider that as added pressure. It makes me work harder. It’s not going to be easy. I’m prepared for the challenges that awaiting me.”
Fitness is one aspect that has helped Sindhu become the player that she is today. “It is very important for every player. We need to keep ourselves fit, both physically and mentally. When you feel fatigued, you need to take rest. It’s very important to pick and chose tournaments, because you may not feel 100 per cent all the time. BWF says you need to play a certain number, but I think it’s important to be fully fit.”
Sindhu also felt that PBL is a good platform for youngsters to gain exposure. “Especially for youngsters like Lakshya (Sen). For Priyanshu (Rajawat, who lost a close game to Lakshya on Monday), it was his first match on such a big stage. He played well.
“It’s a good exposure for the younger crop because they get to learn a lot more from senior pros. It’s a learning process. They will get more familiar with high-pressure matches. This tournament helps in team-bonding as you don’t play only for yourself. It’s an exciting league for youngsters to be a part of.”
Sindhu said she felt no awkwardness while facing Gayatri on Monday. “It’s just a game. Anything can happen. You may end up playing anyone. I’ve been with Gopi sir for a very long time. It’s not that a coach should always let us have fun, but they need to be tough from their side. He does that.”
Warriors take down raptors
Tanongsak Saensomnoonsuk beat Brice Leverdez 15-7, 15-8 in the fifth match of the tie to hand North Eastern Warriors a 4-3 win over Bengaluru Raptors in the PBL on Tuesday. The teams were tied 3-3 before this match.
The Raptors opened with a win in mixed doubles before Lee Cheuk Yiu defeated B Sai Praneeth 15-14, 15-9 to level the tie. Both teams won a match each after that until Saensomnoonsuk sealed the deal for North Eastern Warriors.