The 19-year-old shuttler P.V. Sindhu, who retained the Macau Grand Prix Gold women’s singles title last week-end, feels that for many of the players from outside China, there is some sort of a comfort zone now when playing the formidable Chinese players.
“Yes, even as the women’s singles competition continues to be tough, it is a fact that the Chinese players are no more unbeatable. I must say players like the Japanese Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara are really playing well and are potential champions,” says Sindhu in an interaction at the Gopi Chand Badminton Academy on Tuesday.
“The best example is the way Saina and Srikanth have won the titles in the recent China Open,” she added.
“Why? May be, the training methods and the intensity in preparations have changed for the good. For instance, Gopi Sir is so well-equipped with all sorts of information and strategies that he ensures that there is a feel-good thing about the prospect of facing these Chinese players. They are always dangerous opponents but the chances of beating them have certainly increased,” said Sindhu.
No regrets“I have no regrets when I look back at the year 2014. It was a very satisfying one having won the bronze each in the World Championship, the Commonwealth Games and a historic one in the Uber Cup women’s team event,” said Sindhu.
“It all boils down to how well you play consistently. This is one area where I will be focusing more as I prepare for the next year which starts off with the Syed Modi Grand Prix. You can’t play the same way in every match.
“Sometimes you win from losing situations as it happened to me in the pre-quarterfinal of the Macau event and sometimes you lose from winning positions. Definitely, I will be keen to increase the rate of winning henceforth,” added Sindhu, who has just a day’s break before flying to Bengaluru for the PSPB Championship.
“Realistically, the first target is to break into the top 10 and stay in the elite group with improved performances. Yes, there are quite a few areas to work on and I am sure Gopi Sir will be guiding me to be a much better player next time around,” Sindhu said.
The champion shuttler reiterated that she was glad that she could end the season with a title-triumph.
“It would have been disappointing if I had not won the Macau title even though the whole year has been highly satisfying for me. I am aware that it is important to keep winning big titles,” she concluded.
