Tokyo Olympics: Always good to train under different coaches, says world champion PV Sindhu

When she went to the Rio Games in 2016, she was not among the favourites but PV Sindhu will head into Tokyo Olympics as the reigning world champion. Having won the silver 5 years ago, Sindhu understands the pressure of expectations but the 26-year-old is confident that she can handle it at the biggest stage.

Former All England champion Pullela Gopichand was instrumental in helping Sindhu reach the final at Rio Olympics. Gopichand’s contribution to helping Sindhu becoming a world-beater is well-documented but he will not be cheering the star shuttler from the sidelines in Tokyo.

PV Sindhu has been working with South Korean Park Tae Sang in the lead up to the Tokyo Games. She is no more training at the Pullela Gopichand Academy but at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.

PV Sindhu believes that working with Park is helping her prepare well for the quadrennial spectacle and that the experience of having worked with different coaches has only proved to be an advantage.

Sindhu, who turned 26 on June 5, worked with Mulyo Handoyo after her stint with Gopichand. She won the world championship medal in 2019 under the supervision of Kim Ji Hyun of South Korea.

“Training is going perfectly fine. I have been training with Park for one and half years. He is observing my game and training me every day. It is always good to train under different coaches. I am happy that I have learnt different things from different coaches. I have always tried to grab as much as possible,” Sindhu told Sports Today on Monday.

Sindhu hasn’t been in the best of forms in 2021 after having trained in the Uk during the lockdown last year. She is yet to win a title on the tour since her world championship crown in 2019 and the Indian star was ousted in the semi-final at All England Championships earlier this year. However, the reigning world champion is known for stepping at the big stages.

Shedding light on her decision to train at the Gachibowli, Sindhu said: “The badminton matches of the Tokyo Olympics will be played at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza located in Chofu, Tokyo. It is similar in capacity and size to the Gachibowli Stadium.”

Sindhu is the only Indian woman shuttler who will be going to the Games. Sai Praneeth, who won the world championships bronze medal in 2019, will represent the country in men’s singles while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will feature in the men’s doubles field.