I couldn't hold back tears after semifinal loss, admits Sindhu

The only Indian woman to win two Olympic medals, shuttler P V Sindhu does not want to rest on her laurels. The 26-year-old world champion won the women's singles bronze at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, adding to her silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Having clinched back to back medals at Olympics, the queen of Indian badminton told Manorama after returning from Tokyo that she has her eyes set on Paris 2024. 

Excerpts from the interview:

You had not dropped a single game in your first four matches in Tokyo, but in the semifinal, things just did not go your way. What exactly went wrong?

I believe I did play well against Tai Tzu Ying. I could stay in the lead till the fag end of the first game, but when the opponent picked some straight points and drew level, it put me under some pressure. In the second game, I was not able to pick Tai Tzu's deceptive smashes. Luck too was on her side as she won some crucial points through net chords. 

You recovered well from the heart-breaking loss in the semifinal and won the bronze medal with a straight-game win over world No. 9 He Bing Jiao in the third-place play-off. How did you manage to put the disappointment behind and return to winning ways?

I was really disappointed and completely broken after the loss in the semifinal. I could not hold back my tears as I was aiming to win the gold this time around. The coach and my family members consoled me and motivated me to give my best in the third-place play-off. Those words of comfort helped me get into the right frame of mind before that match. I was able to go into an attacking mode against Bing Jiao right from the start. 

You endured a poor run of form after winning the 2019 BWF World Championships. What is the role of coach Park Tae-Sang in the palpable improvement in your game over the last couple of years?

I was going through a lean patch when Park took over. It took him no time to identify that a weak defence and low fitness levels were the reasons behind my slip in performance. He worked on my defence and gave me tips to stay supremely fit. Over the months leading up to the Olympics, we had been trying really hard to improve my overall game. In Tokyo, I could execute the drop shot well and did particularly well to not commit many unforced errors. When the Olympics was postponed, I made good use of the forced break by creating a home training system to do workouts and practice.

You love ice cream but you have had to stay away from it to stay fit. What are the other little joys that you had to sacrifice?

Although I had decided to avoid biryani and curd before the Olympics, all my plans went awry when I stayed at home during the lockdown period. Of late, I have been using my mobile phone very rarely. As I had to be extra cautious to protect myself from the coronavirus, I stopped going out and stayed confined to my home and the Gachibowli Stadium. Of course, sacrifices go a long way in sports.