This time last year, P.V. Sindhu was crowned World champion in Basel, Switzerland. The tag is now helping her chase another goal — the Olympic gold next year.
“The tag of being a world champion for the second year does help me prepare as I chase the Olympic gold,” she said. “I am taking this pandemic break in a very positive way for it will be the same for all. Fortunately, I am able to maintain the desired fitness levels to be back on court whenever the competition is on.”
Sindhu said that her success last year was a result of teamwork. “I repeat that my success story is a result of teamwork. At Suchitra Badminton Academy, I thank Raju sirs — Praveen (founder) and Pradeep (director) — who make it a point even now to ensure that everything is in place for me.”
As a case in point, Pradeep revealed the collective strategy behind the decision to skip the Thai Open before the Worlds last year, which gave her extra time to focus on fitness, apart from other aspects of the game.
“There was a lot of criticism then about that move, but Sindhu proved everyone wrong,” said Pradeep.
“We worked on subtle changes, like taking the shuttle a bit higher than she was doing. We worked on stroke-selection by showing a lot of videos of her previous matches.”
