Hyderabad: P.V. Sindhu may have made a big splash on the senior international badminton circuit in 2011, but it was only in 2013 that she started making waves.
The 18-year-old wunderkind elevated her already very special year to 'remarkable' status when she won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title on Sunday .
It was her second Grand Prix Gold title after the her triumph in Malaysia in May, and caps a year that saw her bring home a bronze medal from the World Championships and subsequently get conferred the prestigious Arjuna Award.
She also led the Lucknow-based Awadhe Warriors to the final of the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League.
“This was a great year for me,“ the World No.11 said on Tuesday, after returning to Hyderabad.
“I'm very happy with the Macau title, especially since it came at the end of the year. First the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold title, then the Worlds bronze, the Arjuna, the IBL and now, this title. It has been a fantastic year for me. I hope to many more titles next year,“ she added.
Her coach, Pullela Gopichand, couldn't agree more. “It is a very good victory for Sindhu. She had done well throughout the year, and won against a lot of top players. Hopefully, we'll see even better performances from her in the coming year,“ the chief national coach said.
There were some concerns about her dipping form, especially after she won a bronze medal at the Worlds in August. Subsequent tournaments in Japan, Denmark and France saw her exit in the early stages. Acting on Gopi's advice, Sindhu pulled out of the China Open Superseries to focus on her game and got back on the court at the Hong Kong Open Superseries.
While her second round exit didn't do much to ease the worries, she turned it around spectacularly in Macau. “A f t e r the IBL, I played quite a few tournaments,” Sindhu said. “So I pulled out of the China Open Superseries to prepare for the Hong Kong Open Superseries and the Macau Grand Prix. Gopi sir helped me work on my drop shots and smashes and I could see the difference in Hong Kong and Macau.” Sindhu does concede that she needs to improve her consistency, now that she’s considered one of the top players in the world.
“Now that I’m in the top bracket, I’ll have to work on performing more consistently. I cannot keep doing well in one event and lose early in the next. I do feel bad when I exit a tournament early and I’m definitely working towards fixing that.” However, when pressed on the subject, Sindhu ended things on a philosophical note.
“There will be days when you taste defeat. A player who gives his or her 100 per cent on any given day will win the match. But just because I win once doesn’t mean I will win every match I play in. It’s all a part of the game,” she said.
