PV Sindhu knows going will be tough in Asian Games

PV Sindhu knows going will be tough in Asian Games

PV Sindhu (Via PTI)

Badminton star PV Sindhu will be competing in her third Asian Games, this time in Hangzhou. Yet, the two-time Olympic medalist is aware of the Himalayan challenge ahead this time.

Having won medals in the 2016 Rio Olympics and then in Tokyo 2020, Sindhu has been battling up and down form. It has got to do with her ankle injury sustained at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year and return thereafter. She has not been the same star after that, with results not at all encouraging.

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It was surprising, a few days ago, Sindhu took to LinkedIn to post some thoughts on how she is feeling. As one who has been changing coaches like hand towels, the hire and fire policy has been scary. She dumped Korea coach Park, even though he was with her in Tokyo. Before that, Sindhu had parted ways with P. Gopichand, who was her mentor and first coach in Hyderabad.

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There is a strong similarity between Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who is now battling fitness issues and is not here for the Asian Games. Sindhu now is training with a Malaysian, Hafiz Hashim, but those in the know feel he is more of a trainer.

Now comes the post on Linkedin, where Sindhu has profusely thanked Prakash Padukone for rendering her all support in recent week in Bengaluru. In 2014, just before the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Saina Nehwal stormed out of the SAI-Gopichand academy. She took a flight to Bengaluru from Hyderabad and then trained with Vimal Kumar. Vimal also accompanied her to Incheon.

Related: Rudrankksh Patil, Divyansh Panwar, and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar clinch India’s first gold of the Hangzhou Asian Games in Men’s 10m Air Rifle Team event

Sindhu will look forward to use Prakash Padukone’s guidance

The pattern is now repeating. This time, Sindhu has spent time with Vimal on the badminton courts in Bengaluru. Vimal had given an interview, a frank one, two weeks ago, not all is well with Sindhu vis-à-vis her game. Back to the champion, Sindhu has thanked Prakash for guiding her.

(Via TOI)

She has made a mention of how the father of Bollywood star Deepika Padukone must have guided the diva of Bollywood through the highs and lows in her career. Deepika has reportedly faced even mental health issues, but she is in good space with her father, India’s most respected badminton star who won the All-England title in 1980.

In Hangzhou, the pressure of expectation will be high from Sindhu. The ranking and qualification cycle for the Paris Olympics is on. Sindhu knows she has to keep her ranking high enough to make the cut. All of a sudden, a player who has been dominating for nearly 13 years is struggling. To maintain consistency day in and day out is impossible. Given the lack of depth in singles in Indian badminton, Sindhu is still the best hope. If she is struggling, then there is something seriously wrong!

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