Smash hit
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Hyderabad has a long history of producing world class shuttlers who make it a habit to set the courts on fire. Saina Nehwal has done it time and again, Jwala has too. Now, it’s P.V. Sindhu’s turn.
Sindhu, for long considered an exceptionally talented player, was one of the most remarkable players on the senior circuit when she made her debut last year. Ranked in excess of 180 when she made her debut, Sindhu made giant strides, impressing one and all with a slew of exceptional results.
Most recently, she won the Badminton Asia Under-19 Championship at Gimcheon in South Korea by defeating Okuhara Nozomi in a thrilling three-game final. On of Sindhu’s most impressive victories en route to the final was over China’s Sun Yu in the quarterfinals. Sindhu scripted a hard-fought straight games 22-20, 21-19 win over Yu. Incidentally, Sindhu had lost to the same player in three games in the last edition and had to settle for a bronze medal. In that match, Sindhu had won the first game 21-13 but then the Chinese player staged a comeback to wrap up the match 21-12, 21-10 over the next two games.
Sindhu said she was determined to go all the way this time, even before she began her campaign. “I won a bronze medal at the tournament last year and this time, I was going to settle for nothing less than gold. In fact, I had lost to Sun Yu in the semifinals last year, and the fact that I defeated her on my way to the title makes it that much sweeter,” the 17-year-old said.
With the Olympics less than three weeks away and most of India’s badminton contingent being from Hyderabad, Sindhu certainly has quite a few role models to look up to. But for now, she is more than happy just focusing on the immediate future. “I don’t really set myself long-term goals. I always ensure I focus only on the next tournament I’d be playing in,” she said.
For the moment, Sindhu would just be training at the Pullela Gopichand badminton academy as with the London Games just around the corner, there are no major tournaments coming up. “Usually it’s Gopi sir that decides which tournaments I take part in. For now, there’s nothing on the horizon, so I’ll just be concentrating on my training,” she added.
Sindhu does, however, have one long term goal. She has her sights set firmly on the very top of the world. “I would like to become the No.1 player in the world.”
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