India’s Tokyo Olympics badminton star focussed on total commitment on and off court as French Open begins today
PV Sindhu. Pic/AP, PTI
India's double Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu wants to ensure that she picks and skips the right tournaments to ensure that she is able to maintain her fitness. The Denmark Open was Sindhu's first tournament after winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Sindhu exited the tournament in the quarter-finals.
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Earlier, she pulled out of the Thomas and Uber Cups citing personal reasons.
When asked that since it's going to be a busy calendar next year too, does Sindhu plan to pick and choose the tournaments, Sindhu explained that it is important to pick the right tournaments. For the time being she wants to focus on the French Open [October 26-31] and BWF World Tour Finals in Bali from December 1-5.
"Of course, we will pick and choose tournaments as I need to be fit. I need to maintain my fitness levels and give 100% every time. So, in order to make sure that I am able to give my best I will have to pick and choose tournaments," Sindhu told mid-day.com.
About the 2024 Olympics, Sindhu wants to perform well at other events before thinking about the Paris Games. "Well, there is a lot of time to go before that [2024 Olympics]. For me, it is very important to focus on what's next. I have a lot more to play and do well [in]."
After becoming the only the second Indian and the country's first woman to win two Olympic medals, life has changed for the Hyderabadi shuttler. But she has no complaints. "Of course, it [life] has changed a lot and it has become much busier than before. And it feels really nice. Having back-to-back medals at the Olympics is not easy and that feeling will always be there. It's such a nice feeling to have," said the reigning world champion.
After the Olympics, Sindhu took a much-deserved break and then got back to her training schedules. "We [coach Park Tae-sang and her] worked on everything after the Olympics. We worked a lot more on skill and technique, but we worked more on defence. I took a small break and went to Goa for a couple of days [4-5 days]. It was a family vacation. I was busy travelling and I had to get back on court and start my training sessions as the Denmark Open was coming up. So it was not a long break I would say. Of course, having a vacation with the family was a really nice time together. Everybody enjoyed/celebrated my wins," she remarked.
Meanwhile, Sindhu said that though she plans to build a world-class academy in Visakhapatnam, her focus right now is only on playing badminton. "Yeah, it [academy] is going to be there but it will take time. We will be constructing an academy but right now I am playing and my dad [PV Ramana] is there to take care. So for now the whole focus is on playing and training and practicing for tournaments and matches," she signed off.
Also read: Champ to future champ?
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