Eye contact with coach Park worked wonders: PV Sindhu

India badminton star PV Sindhu with coach Park Tae-Sang after winning the bronze medal in Tokyo on Sunday. Pic/Getty Images

India shuttler PV Sindhu's eye contact with her South Korean coach Park Tae-Sang was the secret to her bronze medal triumph at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. Sindhu beat China's He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to become the only Indian woman to win two individual Olympic medals (adding to her 2016 Rio Olympics silver).

Sindhu, 26, also revealed how Park motivated her following her disappointing 18-21, 12-21 defeat to World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of the Chinese Taipei in the semi-
finals on Saturday.

"There were a lot of mixed emotions [after the semi-final defeat] about whether I should be happy that I got another chance [to win a bronze medal] or I have to be sad because I lost in the semis.

Motivation

"But Park told me one thing. He said: ‘There is a lot of difference between a bronze and the fourth position.' That really hit me and I felt that I must give my best to get that medal," Sindhu said during a virtual press conference from Tokyo on Monday.

Sindhu added that Park played the perfect guide from the sidelines. "He [Park] never showed his nervousness because as a coach, he needs to always motivate and support the player. But we had a lot of eye-to-eye contact and since we have been practising together for so long, I knew exactly what he was saying and what he wanted me to do. We have practiced that [visual signals] so I know exactly how I have to play next," said Sindhu.

Meanwhile, Park, 42, who has been guiding the reigning world champion for two years now, said that he calmed her down with a Hindi phrase that he has learnt overtime.

‘Take it easy'

"In important moments, when the pressure is very high and it's easy to make a mistake, I would say to her, ‘aaram se' [take it easy]," said Park, a 2004 Athens Olympics quarter-finalist.

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