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Hopefully, I’ll get a hat-trick of medals soon: Sindhu
The two-time olympic medallist sparred with a variety of players in Saarbrucken and is confident of her strokes and her ability to last long rallies
Paris: PV Sindhu has been training in the “middle of nowhere” for the past couple of weeks and sparring with a Nigerian and a German singles player. It’s her third Olympics and she’s chasing a hattrick of medals.
“It’s always a new feeling when I play in the Olympics. In 2016, I was the underdog, and there was no pressure. In Tokyo, there was pressure and everyone wanted me to get a medal but there were no crowds. So, I have experienced two different kinds of Olympics. This time it’s a mixture of both. Everytime I go out there, I want to get a medal and hopefully I will get a hat-trick soon.”
She believes she’s now “much more confident” of her strokes and her ability to last long rallies. She travelled to Saarbrucken with three sparring partners from Bengaluru.
“A left hander, an attacking player, and a rally player. I also had a Nigerian guy sparring with me and a German singles player. We played one vs one, two vs one, even three vs one. It is a good thing that I got the opportunity to train with different players.”
She also slept in a Hypoxic tent to mimic high-altitude conditions.
“I couldn’t go to a high-altitude training center, I didn’t have much time and obviously there I couldn’t have been playing. So I thought it would be good to make some changes and sleep that way…In Saarbrucken, we were in the middle of nowhere so I was very focused.”
Sindhu has been drawn in a hassle-free group in Paris, alongside lower-ranked players from Estonia and Maldives. Her first real test will only arrive in the pre-quarterfinals where she’s likely to face China’s He Bingjiao.
“We’ve been strategising… If I top the group then the pre-quarterfinal is going to be the most important.”
Asked about being smart on court, Sindhu spoke of the “need to play the right stroke at the right time.”
“Prakash sir keeps telling me and of course Agus (coach) and I have been working on it as well. So, it’s not just that I keep playing rallies but I need to be smart enough to strategize and keep changing every single time. There’s a lot of improvement. You will see it on court.”
Sindhu, along with Sharath Kamal will be India’s flag bearer at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday. “Some time ago it was like Paris is in two years and now you see it’s right here. When you’re holding the flag, it’s a proud moment. You automatically get into the zone.”
