Patience, defence focus points in Sindhu's resurgence strategy

"I am working on my defence. I have learnt to be a bit more patient during rallies," Sindhu said on her preparations for the All England Badminton and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

P.V. Sindhu said there was no major flaw in her game except that she was committing unforced errors at crucial moments of the contest.

Since winning the World Championship in August last year, P. V. Sindhu hasn't done anything of note.

But the 24-year-old star shuttler isn’t worried about the downslide. “I have had some ups and downs [since the Worlds]. It’s fine. I am working on my mistakes and I am 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.

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The 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist said that there was no major flaw in her game except that she was committing unforced errors at crucial moments of the contest. She also highlighted that she was focussing on her defence. “That 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 focusing on the mental side, Sindhu said practicing meditation technique [Heartfulness] for the last 11 months has made her calm and take away the pressure of expectations during matches and help 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,” she said.

There is no clear favourite in the women’s section at 2020 Olympics, according to Sindhu.

“I think every player is doing well. Players in the top 15 in the world are of same standards,” she said. “You have to wait and see. Everybody is working hard for Tokyo.”

When asked if the numerous off-court commitments were proving to distractions, 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," she said.