PV Sindhu has been touted as the next best thing to have happened to Indian badminton after Saina Nehwal. The world number 12 is now setting her sights on a decent performance in the upcoming World Championships, slated to be held in Guangzhou next month.
“I’m training hard for the World Championships, hopefully I will fare well,” Sindhu says in an exclusive interview.
The gangling Hyderabad-based shuttler last appeared in the Sudirman Cup.
2013 has been a fruitful year for Sindhu. She clinched her first senior singles crown, winning the Malaysian Grand Prix Gold event after getting the better of Singaporean Juan Gu in three tight games.
“That triumph will have special memories for me. Juan was coming hard at me and I had to really to battle hard to overcome her. I just hope this will be the beginning of many more to come,” she recalls.
The last time Sindhu came close to winning a Grand Prix Gold was at the Syed Modi India International in Lucknow last year when she lost in the final to Indonesian Lindaweni Fanetri.
The 18-year-old BPCL employee reached the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championship besides entering the semifinals of the Indian Open. “My consistency has improved this year, I want to keep improving and raise the performance bar.”
A first year B.Com student of St. Ann’s College, Hyderabad, Sindhu’s unremitting focus on the game ensures her academics take a backseat. “Time constraints are always there. I recently appeared in my B.Com first year exams – I think I studied for a week or so – let’s see how my results pan out,” she says.
Born to a family of volleyball players (her father and mother are former volleyball players), Sindhu spares no effort to work on her weaknesses. “I have a height advantage and so delivering smashes is my strength but I need to work on my defence, which lets me down at times,” she opines.
Sindhu is now determined to break into the top-10 by 2013 end.
“I want to remain in the top-10 by the end of 2013. I will take it from there, that’s the realistic goal I have for now,” she outlines her future aspirations.
The might of the Chinese shuttlers seems to be dwindling, and Sindhu feels that it is happening because other countries are catching up fast. “It’s not that Chinese are falling away. In fact, other countries are producing players who can take the Chinese head-on. Look at Japan’s Minatsu Mitani or Thailand’s Ratchanok Inthanon or Germany’s Juliane Schenk, all are coming up. Indian shuttlers are starting to beat the Chinese players, so you could say coaches of other nations have raised the bar,” says the shuttler, whose role model is Lin Dan.
“I like the way Lin Dan carries himself on court. The amount of international success he has had is so inspiring for any youngster and I’m no different,” came the parting shot.
Picture Courtesy The Hindu
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