Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu’s lack of consistency after returning from an injury should not be a cause of concern, feels chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand.
Sindhu suffered yet another first-round exit on Tuesday when she lost to world number 1 Akane Yamaguchi at the Singapore Open. “She’s very young, she’s 26-27. It’s an appropriate age, there is no reason for concern,” Gopichand told PTI in a virtual interaction. A silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and bronze winner at the Tokyo Games, Sindhu suffered an ankle injury in August last year. She slipped out of the top 10 BWF women’s singles rankings. She remained out of action for four months because of that injury.
(Read Also: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, and Kidambi Srikanth enter the Malaysia Masters Quarterfinals)
Sindhu’s final and semi-final finishes at the Madrid Spain Masters and Malaysia Masters respectively were her most impressive results this season. She reached a low with a first-round exit at the Thailand Open when she lost to Canada’s Michelle Li.
But Gopichand, a former All-England champion who guided Sindhu from 10 until she became an Olympic medallist, firmly believed she would bounce back stronger.
“She has come out on top in the past six to eight months. She is playing well. I expect her to play well in future. She is definitely one of India’s best bets for the future,” Gopichand said.
Terming it a mixed season for Sindhu, Gopichand said: “It’s the beginning of the season and Olympic qualification. The results have been mixed so far.
“We have a lot of pressure on players to perform. We have to just back them up and hope they are playing in the big tournaments.” The high point of the season for Indian badminton was HS Prannoy’s title win at the Malaysia Masters last month, the 30-year-old’s first men’s singles triumph since the 2017 US Open.
As a whole, Prannoy’s win in Malaysia was a good one. I’m really happy about it. It’s the beginning of the season, it’s early.
“We have not done well in the Sudirman Cup. It was a negative experience. Lakshya Sen did well to get to the semifinals in Thailand, and I do believe that the next few weeks will be very critical and we have big tournaments coming up,” said the 49-year-old Gopichand.
The top shuttlers in the country train with personal coaches. Sindhu trains with Vidhi Chaudhary, while Kidambi Srikkanth recruited Wiempie Mahardi of Indonesia. This is with an eye on the Paris Olympics next year.
“In general, the rigours of playing back-to-back have made players feel that they need personal coaches,” said Gopichand.
“If one has won, everybody starts to believe that they need one. This has been happening.
“In the Olympic year, everybody’s need to have that personal attention. Several other sports have followed it as well, as it’s a trend that has been established. I’m okay with that.”
Advisor to Indian Padel Federation
Pullela Gopichand believes PV Sindhu’s lack of consistency after returning from injury should not be of concern
Gopichand will now be seen promoting the sport of padel as an advisor. The racket sport combines tennis and squash and is relatively new to India. It is nicknamed ‘Tennis with Walls’ and ‘Squash in the Sun’.
“I first saw the sport in Dubai and found it very energetic, fun, and interactive.
“We at the Academy have a running track and in between the track we have some space and thought Padel would be a good fit for it,” he said.
The badminton ace feels the sport has the potential to become popular in India.
“I do believe that as a sport some of the things are important at the basic level. I think it’s easy to pick up but tough to master.
This is a sport in which everyone can try their hand, making it very accessible. Everyone can play the sport,” he added.
