Since the epic World badminton championship victory last August, P.V. Sindhu hasn’t done anything of note to be optimistic of a gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
But the 24-year-old isn’t worried one bit about the perceptible downslide.
“I have had some ups and downs [since the Worlds]. It’s fine. I am working on my mistakes and preparing for the All England Open [to be held in Birmingham from March 11 to 15] and hope to do well there,” said Sindhu, after laying the foundation stone for the P.V. Sindhu Badminton Academy and a training centre, to be set up by Heartfulness at Lalaji Memorial Omega International School at Kolapakkam here on Wednesday.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist said there was no major flaw in her game except that she is committing unforced errors at crucial junctures of a contest.
Focus on defence
She also highlighted that she was focussing on her defence.
“The day matters. I might have made a few mistakes I should not have done. Those made the difference in close matches. I am working on my defence. I have learnt to be a bit more patient during rallies. I am working on all that,” she said.
On the mental aspect, Sindhu said practicing meditation technique [Heartfulness] for the last 11 months has made her calm and took away the pressure of expectations during matches and helped her concentrate on the game.
“Not that it will get you success. Generally, when you play, you face pressure. Sometimes the pressure gets to you. In matches it is important to be calm. For me, in matches you get impatient and tend to get angry and lose points. That’s when heartfulness comes into play.”
No clear favourite
There is no clear favourite in the women’s section at Olympics, according to Sindhu. “I think every player is doing well. Players in the top-15 are of same standars. You have to wait and see. Everybody is working hard for Tokyo.”
When asked whether numerous off-court commitments has been a distraction, Sindhu replied that if one is clear about his/her priorities, it is not a problem.
“It is not like that. It needs to be equally done. I never felt that I have given too much time to off-court activities.”
