PV Sindhu’s defence strategy for Tokyo Olympics

World No. 7 Sindhu says since rivals know her attacking game well, she is working on defending better in the build-up to Tokyo Olympics

India’s star shuttler PV Sindhu, 25, might miss a friend in Tokyo after Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain, who pulled out of the Games due to a knee injury, but she certainly won’t miss quality competition at the quadrennial event. And the Indian world champion Sindhu is well aware of this.

During a virtual interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Thursday, when Sindhu was asked if Marin’s absence will make life easier for her in Tokyo, she replied: “I don’t think so. In the women’s circuit, all the players in the Top 10 are of the same standard. There is Tai Tzu Ying [World No. 1], Ratchanok [Intanon, No. 6], [No. 3 Nozomi] Okuhara and [No. 5, Akane] Yamaguchi. They are all good players. You can’t say that it will be easy if one player is missing. I cannot afford to relax and need to be focussed and give my best. Players like Tai Tzu are very tricky, while Ratchanok is very skillful.”

World No. 7 Sindhu has a 5-9 head-to-head record against Marin, having lost the 2016 Rio Olympics final and 2017 World Championship final to the Spaniard.

‘Jiao’s skills are good’

Sindhu also spoke of some Chinese players, who are currently not regular on the circuit, but are very talented nevertheless. “They [Chinese shuttlers] have not played for a long time. We have not seen much of them. [World No 2] Chen Yu [Fei] and [No. 9, He Bing] Jiao, the left hander, her skills are good. At the Olympics, the match pressure will be completely different. You can’t expect things to be easy,” explained Sindhu, who went on to praise her Korean coach, Park Tae Sang, for his constant motivation and support.

Familiar atmosphere

Asked if she was looking to improve any specific aspect of her game, Sindhu said: “My rivals know my [attacking] game well, so I’m working on my defence too. I am tall, so my attack is good, but I have to be prepared for all strokes, for everything. It has been five years since my first Olympics in Rio. At that time, I didn’t even know what the Olympic Village would look like, but now I know how the atmosphere is and the feel of it,” added Sindhu, the only Indian women’s singles player to have qualified for Tokyo.

On compatriot Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth missing out on the Olympics due to the cancellation of some of the qualifying events in May and June, Sindhu said that “it’s an unfortunate and unforeseen situation.”

Finally, Sindhu was also asked about Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, who pulled out of the ongoing French Open after being fined for missing a mandatory press conference citing mental health issues. “I have never faced a situation where the [Indian] press has been rude to me or troubled me at any point. But she [Osaka] might be a bit depressed or upset, so we need to respect her personal space,” she replied.

Also Read: PV Sindhu to injured Carolina Marin: Will miss you at Tokyo Olympics

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