New Delhi:
PV Sindhu had endured a terrible couple of months, with the ace Indian shuttler reaching the final of major badminton tournaments only to suffering crushing losses. Sindhu lost to Carolina Marin in the final of the 2016 Rio Olympics and suffered crushing losses in the 2017 and 2018 World Badminton Championships while also losing at the last stage in the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games. However, in the 2019 World Badminton Championship in Basel, Sindhu overcame all the pain and defeated Nozomi Okuhara in the final to become the first Indian shuttler to win the gold medal in the World Badminton Championships.
Sindhu, who has been nominated for the Padma Bhushan, has said that the World Badminton Championship win takes care of all the previous losses. However, she is still keen on winning the gold medal in the Olympics and she has used a special provision to ensure she remains motivated.
"There is a vacant space (laughs) in my cabinet for that gold. The Olympic qualification is on and this win will give me the confidence to go further. It (World Championships gold) takes care of all those losses. People have been talking about my final phobia, how I take pressure in the finals and I can say I gave the answer with my racquet. But Olympics is a completely different feeling. Rio (Games) and World Championship gave me different memories, but, yeah, one gold medal is missing, so definitely I will work hard for that and would love to see myself win that Olympic gold at Tokyo," Sindhu said in an interaction with PTI.
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Sindhu is currently focused on qualifying for the Olympics and she is going to play the China and Korea Open towards the end of September. She said step by step progression is key for her development. Ranked fifth in the World currently, Sindhu has virtually sealed her Olympic qualification. A higher ranking will help her avoid meeting top players when the draw is made at the Tokyo Games but Sindhu said she is unfazed about standings.
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"Ranking matters because the draw depends on it but I don't really think about it because if I can play well, it will come up. At the end of the day, you will have to beat these top players again to achieve the gold. I am not very particular about ranking and for now it is Olympics, it is ultimate goal, so after that it will be step by step. Next for me is China, so focusing on that," Sindhu said.
