Recharged from month-long training, Sindhu hopes to turn the tide

P.V. Sindhu hasn’t won a single title this year and is hoping the month-long break and the training sessions with Korea’s Kim Ji Hyun will keep her in good stead for the next three major tournaments — Indonesian, Japan and Thailand Open championships.

P.V. Sindhu says she has learnt a lot during the month-long break and has prepared well for the upcoming tournaments.

Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu says that she has learnt a lot during the month long training sessions with help from Korean coach Kim Ji Hyun and is hoping to turn the tide at Indonesian, Japan and the Thailand Open championships over the next few weeks.

“It has not been really a great this year so far but I think I have to satisfy myself. You can’t think, ‘you lose and everything is over’. You have to back yourself , learn from your mistakes,” says Sindhu, the brand ambassador of PNB MetLife on the sidelines of a promotional event here on Thursday.

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“Nothing went wrong really in the recent past. What matters is doing well on the given day irrespective whether you are up against a senior or a junior player,” she said. “There have been a couple of new players from China and Japan who have been really doing well. So you have to be at your best always,” she added.

“It is not that I am happy. You have to think there is always a next time or the next big opportunity to make amends,” she said.

“It has not been really a great this year so far but I think I have to satisfy myself. You can’t think, ‘you lose and everything is over’. You have to back yourself , learn from your mistakes.” — P.V. Sindhu

“In the last last six months, I lost a couple of matches easily from winning positions. Worked out on what went wrong then and I feel I am a much better player,” Sindhu said.

“I have been training with a Korean women’s coach Kim Ji Hyun. The training sessions have been different, could learn a lot more new things. I hope everything will go on well in the tournaments,” Sindhu said.

“I worked a lot on mental and physical aspects as, of late, matches have been really long. It is like a chain and everything needs to be touched and it is not all about skills as the game has changed a lot and a lot of young players are really doing well,” she said.

“Definitely, it is going to be one match at a time in this crucial Olympics qualifying cycle year as the ultimate goal obviously is to be there at Tokyo Games next year,” Sindhu said.

“I hope to do well in the next three majors. A month’s break from competitions has been really good for us. I have been in top level during training, working hard, had enough time to prepare for the next big events,” Sindhu said.