Padukone: 'Sindhu should prioritise her events'

Prakash Padukone feels P. V. Sindhu needs to skip a few smaller tournaments leading to big events, like the World championship, in order to be fresh for the key matches.

P.V. Sindhu went down to Carolina Marin in the BWF World Championships final.

Prakash Padukone feels P. V. Sindhu needs to skip a few smaller tournaments leading to big events, like the World championship, in order to be fresh for the key matches.

Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a junior badminton event in the Capital on Tuesday, the former All England champion said, “I don’t think she suffers from any mental block (in the final). We need to remove the pressure from Sindhu so that she can play more freely in the title-matches. Let us not forget that she has consistently entered back-to-back World championship final which in itself is a great achievement.”

Prakash Padukone was clear that there was no cause for concern over Sindhu losing a series of finals in the past year.

 

Prakash was clear that there was no cause for concern over Sindhu losing a series of finals in the past year. “She should be supported by one and all. The media, too, should be supportive instead of pointing out that she had lost a few finals.”

Elaborating further on what he thought Sindhu should do going forward, Prakash stated, “I think, Sindhu and her coach (P. Gopi Chand) should sit down and prioritize the events she should take part in. If she skips six to eight weeks of competition, she could peak during the big events. As a player, I think, it would be nice to reach the venue four or five days before the event.”

When asked about India’s medal prospects in the upcoming Asian Games, Prakash said, “Since all the major badminton powers are in the continent, Indians returning with a medal will be tough, but not impossible.”