Newly-crowned Malaysian Masters Grand Prix champion P. V. Sindhu says she could not have hoped for a better start to the year’s international circuit than winning the title on Sunday.
“It is a big, big win to start with,” she told Sportstar soon after her title triumph in Kuala Lumpur. “This being the year of the Olympics, it is always important to keep winning the majors and what really pleased me in the Malaysian Open was the way I could get most of the things right.
“I finished last year with a title in the Macau Open and have now started this one on a winning note. These kinds of wins give you so much confidence that you tend to feel that you belong to the elite group,” said the 20-year-old.
Reflecting on the final, the World No. 12 said that it was far easier than she had expected. “I think the semi-final against Ji Hyun Sung [of Korea and the top-seed in this edition] was tougher. But again, since I had not played Kirsty Gilmour [Scotland] for a long time, I was not sure how the final would be today,” she added.
“Once I won the first game, I got the feeling that I could win this title,” said Sindhu even as she credited the win to her mentor-cum-coach Pullela Gopi Chand.
“He has always been a great source of inspiration even when I was not doing really well. His constant words of encouragement that a defeat doesn’t mean the end of the road were crucial in my regaining peak form at the highest level,” the two-time World championship bronze medallist said.
“Definitely, the PBL, though a completely different format, helped me get into the groove in terms of expectations and at the same time make those minor adjustments,” the Chennai Smashers' star player said.
Asked about the most impressive part of her game in the Malaysian Open, Sindhu said, “I think my net game was really good. That doesn’t mean that I would be content with this performance. I am aware that I have to keep improving with each event and that also means keeping in tune with the changing strategies of different opponents in the majors lined up, which includes the prestigious All- England championship.
“The efforts are really on to be a much better player by focussing on many areas of my game as no one can be a complete player,” she added.
“Overall, it has been a really satisfying outing in the Malaysian Open and I just hope to win a few more big events in the run-up to the Olympics as an Olympic medal is the ultimate dream I am chasing,” said Sindhu.
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