Star Badminton player, PV Sindhu, is all set to compete in her first Olympics, this August in Rio.
"It's my first Olympics so I'm really excited and looking forward to it, excited and looking forward to it," Sindhu said.
Along with Sindhu, even Saina Nehwal is participating from the country, thus making the number of participants 2, for the first time in the women's singles category.
When asked about her reaction, of sharing the game with Saina, Sindhu said that she could learn several things from the senior player, especially, her fighting spirit.
“I haven't spoken to her about this Olympics or the last Olympics. But then she has been winning medals and laurels for the country. In her game, she has that fighting spirit and I think that's one point to learn from her. She has that fighting spirit always,” she says.
Not only Saina, even Sindhu has some memorable records in Indian badminton history. One of the most significant memories was, she being the first one from the nation, to bag a medal at the World Championships when she won bronze in Guangzhou in 2013, a feat she would emulate at the next edition in Copenhagen 12 months down the line.
Yet, Sindhu is under no illusions about the possibility of capping her first Olympics with a podium finish.
“As far as my medal chances go, it's going to be really tough right from the first round. I just have to play well and give my best. Everybody is equally tough. It's getting tougher all the time. You can't think that if you've beaten someone, it gets easy the next time. Once you win against them, they too are going to come back a lot stronger. So we need to be equally strong.”
Expressing her displeasure on 2016 for the quarterfinal losses preceding another early exit at the recent Asia Badminton Championships, where she lost to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei from a good position.
However, Sindhu believes that, Olympic Gold Quest recruited psychologists, who lend the Hyderabad talent extensive support, is helping her overcome anxious moments on the court.
“Sometimes when you're trailing, you have pressure on you that makes you think `I should win' instead of thinking about the next point. That leads to more mistakes and you just lose. Many games have gone like this and so I've spoken to my coach and also the psychologist. I think that has really helped me. Now, even when I'm down, I know I shouldn't take that pressure about winning that game. I know I need to just focus on the next point.”
By Phani Ch
