Used COVID break well to prepare for Tokyo Olympics, says PV Sindhu
The Rio 2016 silver medallist will play her first match in Tokyo on July 25.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu feels the COVID-enforced break helped her prepare better for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Rio 2016 silver medallist, like most athletes around the globe, was out of competitive action for a major chunk of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Most sporting events were cancelled during the period.
"It did not impact my preparation much for the Olympics. I think the (break during) pandemic was very useful because I got to learn more and focus more on my technique and skills. I would say definitely it has (helped),” PV Sindhu told PTI.
The 26-year-old used the downtime well, first training at the Suchitra Academy in Hyderabad before flying to London in October to train at the National Training Centre with British shuttlers Toby Penty and Rajiv Ouseph.
"Most of the time, we don't have enough time to train. So I think this was the first time that we've got enough time to actually train and get ready for the Olympics,” the world No. 7 women’s singles badminton player added.
PV Sindhu returned to competitive action earlier this year with the Thailand Open and played five events in the lead up to Tokyo 2020. She reached the final of the Swiss Open and the semi-final of the All England Open in March.
Since then, Sindhu has been training in Hyderabad under the watchful eyes of her new South Korean coach Park Tae Sang.
PV Sindhu will be the only women’s shuttler to represent India at Tokyo. Men’s singles player B Sai Praneeth and the men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty make up the rest of the Indian badminton contingent for the upcoming Summer Games.
The women’s singles sixth seed PV Sindhu has been drawn in Group J of Tokyo 2020’s women’s singles badminton event with Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi and Kselina Polikarpova of Israel.
The Indian ace starts her campaign on July 25 against Kselina Polikarpova. She will need to top her group to advance to the next round.
“I'm sure there will be expectations, responsibilities like always but I just hope that with the fans’ love and support, I'm gonna be there, get a medal and come back," PV Sindhu signed off.