The trailblazing Indian Badminton superstar P.V. Sindhu says that self-belief is the most essential quality an athlete or any other person can have. And this was the reason that won the Indian Badminton star a silver medal at the Rio Olympics 2016 as her debut game in the Olympics. She is the first Indian woman to have won the title.
P.V. Sindhu after winning her first silver medal in Summer Olympics in Rio 2016. Image source: olympicchanel.com
As the news about the Tokyo Summer Olympics getting postponed arrived, athletes all over the world remarked their calendars. After a 150-day long hiatus, the Telangana Government has decided to lift the shutters of Gopichand Badminton Academy to allow the athletes to start training for the upcoming game. Although the Covid cases are still on the rise, Pullela Gopichand, founder and chief coach of the academy says they have to be cautious and start off slowly. They are planning to open it from August 5, 2020.
In the first phase, only the eight Olympic probables - P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Ashwini Ponnappa, and Sikki Reddy - will be starting practice as instructed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). The Telangana Sports Minister V Srinivas Goud met up with few of the above-mentioned athletes and announced the reopening of the stadiums and grounds with necessary precautions. No tournaments are to be taken place for the time being.
As we know, P.V. Sindhu before achieving her first medal in the Olympics had suffered an injury due to which she was out of competitive action for eight months just a year before her selections. She pushed herself everyday post-injury not to lose hope to qualify for her maiden Olympics in Rio 2016 and it was made possible by her immense will power.
World Champion believes her self-belief and will power will help achieve her goals. Image source: insidesports.co
After her silver medal, she did not give up hope and played several tournaments until she bagged a gold in the BWF World Championships three years later. She says, "You just have to move on because as an athlete, you know that you have given your best. I think enjoying the game is the most important. Winning and losing is secondary as long as you do that." Whilst competing at the 2018 Asian Games, she was named seventh in Forbes' list of highest-earning female athletes with earnings totaling $8.5 million -- $500,000 from on-court winnings; $8 million from sponsorships.
World champion, P.V. Sindhu, resumed her training on Wednesday at the Suchitra Academy, which she considers as her 'second home'. After the state government granted permission for training, Sindhu was back with her trainer M. Srikanth Verma for her full-length training session. Sindhu also explained the reason behind choosing Srikanth for the training sessions. “He understands my needs and comes up with the right kind of physical conditioning exercises which actually if you remember, helped me a long way before I went on to be the world champion last year,” Sindhu said.
P.V. Sindhu takes part in a full-length training session with M Srikanth Verma in Hyderabad on Wednesday, August 5, 2020. Image source: sportstar.hindu.com
With not much time left for the next year's Olympics, Sindhu feels that it is significant to peak at the right time to fulfill her dreams of clinching gold in Tokyo. In order to outsmart the rivals, she says we need to be a different player consistently. “We are used to a lot of spectators’ support. We may have to come to be ready to play in front of empty stands too. Even as players, we have to avoid many things which we used to do earlier like shaking hands, moving together during sparring sessions involving more than two players. Things will be different for sure in the days to come,” she signed off.
Comments