My task is cut out: Sindhu

Hyderabad: The twinkle in the eyes, the big grin coming every other minute and the gestures of openness indicate that P V Sindhu has come of age, despite an overbearing child-like charm. Fresh from the epoch-making bronze medal effort in the World Badminton Championships at Guangzhou, Sindhu was accorded a rousing reception on her arrival late Monday night.

In an interaction with the media at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Gachibowli here on Tuesday, Sindhu seemed a confident-looking teenager, who is mentally poised to take on the big and ruthless world of badminton and make a mark of her own.

‘I do understand that the expectations of the nation on me have increased manifold. In a way, the task is cut out and I have to take on the challenges in their totality. It is because of this that I have to rework on my game, fine-tune result-oriented strategies and unleash strokes that would help conquer the more formidable opponents. Improvisation and greater level of consistency will be the new buzzwords for me,’ said Sindhu, her faintly audible voice denoting that she remains the demure girl-next-door, the new-found success notwithstanding.

Gracious even in her loss, Sindhu paid rich tributes to her semi-final conqueror, Thai teenager, Ratchanok Inthanon.
‘She played a great game and I lost to a better opponent. I am happy that she achieved history for Thailand by winning the singles title,’ was her salutation.

In the same breath she said, “I felt sorry for Saina (Nehwal) because she is too good a player. I, like many others of my generation, have been inspired by her on-court aggressiveness and the way she bounces back into each game. I have learnt a lot just by watching her in action.’

The euphoria having sunk in, Sindhu was all business and the thoroughbred professional when she said she was looking forward to the inaugural edition of Indian Badminton League (IBL), which will get going on Wednesday. ‘I am sure that IBL will usher in a new beginning for badminton as a whole, and to Indian shuttlers in particular. I am already relishing the prospect of playing alongside and against the best of contemporary players.

Chief national coach, Gopichand, who lauded the efforts of his protégé, said that the road ahead would be rigid and more challenging for her. He, however, refused to compare between Nehwal and Sindhu. He did not dwell into the relative strengths and weaknesses of either of them.

‘Sindhu holds immense promise. I am sure she will pick up further momentum and stay focussed on the job. It has become a little difficult for me because all three Indians (including Parupalli Kashyap) were playing their respective quarterfinal matches around the same time.

In the course of the conversation, Gopichand made a valid point that needs to be addressed in real earnest.
‘You see the fear of the Chinese domination was such that we planned our strategies on how to prevail over them. Today, situations have changed, Players from Malaysia and Thailand have been emerging with such regularity that their approach to the game has caught us off-guard. They are even mastering the Chinese with a good regularity. This point has to be taken into consideration.’ Cheers to her because only an hour later came the news that she is being decorated with the Arjuna award.