PV Sindhu became one of the most decorated Indian athletes in individual sport after a second Olympic medal. Sindhu won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics to add to her silver medal show at the Rio Games five years ago. Sindhu now has two Olympic medals and she is only the second Indian and only woman to have two individual medals. Apart from that, she is only the fourth woman shuttler to win back-to-back singles Olympic medals. Sindhu also has five World Championships medals to her name.
Despite all the success, Sindhu now has eyes on the upcoming World Championships in Spain this year and then the 2024 Paris Games, where she is sure she will participate and aim for a medal again. So what keeps her so motivated? Sindhu says it is these “medals and achievements” that keep her going.
“These kind of medals and achievement is what keeps me motivated and going. The passion towards the sport never dies and I think that keeps me going and I am enjoying it so why not. It’s important to enjoy the sport because badminton is my passion and I really enjoy it,” she said in an interaction with News18.com.
Sindhu stood smiling at the podium alongside silver medallist Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan and gold medallist China’s Chen Yufei. Prior to the medal ceremony though, the Indian had a very sweet interaction with the Taiwanese, which the latter shared on social media and said that Sindhu’s “sincere encouragement made me cry.” The Indian elaborated that she knew the feeling Tai Tzu was having and just went ahead and spoke to her.
“After she (Tai Tzu) finished her match, she was a bit sad. As an athlete we understand and know what goes on inside. So, I just went to her and said ‘it’s fine, you did well. I understand the pain and it hurts but you’ve done well and you have worked so hard for it and so, I think you have to enjoy this moment. It is okay to lose, you win some, you lose a few but you just gave your heart out and it’s okay, it happens, it’s fine’. That’s what I told her and gave her a hug and she had tears and then she was fine,” Sindhu shared.
Sindhu’s routine during the Olympics was “pretty simple”. She would get up in the morning, do some exercise or go for practice. The Indian said that the badminton stadium was “quite far” from the Games Village, where they were residing, and hence, a lot of time would go in travelling and practicing. She said she would practice and do some gym at the stadium and then come back. Then she would have her lunch, rest a bit, go to the Village gym and exercise again, then have her dinner and go to sleep.
“That was pretty much our day because we couldn’t go out as we were in a bubble and it was very important that we took care of ourselves. We were taking care and staying in the room itself. Of course, I would go around the Village, walk for a while, but that was it,” she explained.
Sindhu was happy about the bronze in perspective but initially she was sad about the loss to Tai Tzu in the semi-finals that took the opportunity of gold from her. Sindhu had started the match well but once Tai Tzu came back in it and took control of the proceedings, the Indian could not get past the ‘queen of deceptive badminton’.
Sindhu said she definitely had a couple of plans for the Taiwanese but in the end, it was her day and Sindhu gave her best but lost.
“It was good when I started off (the semi-final against Tai Tzu), if I would have won the first game, it would have been comparatively different I felt. But I think it was important that I had to give my best. I played well but I think around 18-18 (in the first game), there was a net cord and I felt she was lucky too. Also the second game, after losing the first, I tried but yeah, she played well and finished it off. Strategy-wise, there were different strategies because for a match like the one at the Olympics, I’m sure everybody is prepared. We had a couple of plans and I did my best. At the end of the day, one could win and I think it was her day and not mine.”
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