“I was practicing with Sindhu Didi": Anupama Upadhyaya on training and staying with PV Sindhu

18-year-old Indian badminton shuttler Anupama Upadhyaya, who recently won the National Games in Goa, has participated in some of the most prestigious team badminton tournaments at the senior level. Representing the country in the Sudirman Cup and the Asian Games, the youngster from Haryana got an opportunity to watch, train, and play with some of the biggest stars in world badminton.

In an exclusive video interaction with Sportskeeda, Anupama opened up about her experiences training and living with India's star shuttlers, PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen. She shared:

“I was practicing with Sindhu Didi, and I was with her the whole time.”

Anupama gained invaluable insights from both Sindhu and Sen and gave a little insight into what she learned from them.

“I think with Sindhu Didi, I've learned a lot of patience and the smash technique, like during smash, how to hold the racquet grip. And with Lakshya Bhaiya, I think he's a very chill kind of player. Before the match, he is very calm and chill. He does not take a lot of pressure. He told me, you also chill and listen to music. You don't have to take pressure, thinking about what the opponent is going to play. You just have to play your game. You have to give your 100 percent, and you know the conditions of the court and play according to that only. I also got to know how they are training and how they are preparing before the training and before the match as well.”

Not only did Anupama benefit from Sindhu and Lakshya's guidance, but she also had the privilege of observing top players like World No. 1 An Se-young prepare for their matches.

“I saw other top players as well, the current world number one, An Se-young from Korea. I saw her playing too. She was doing practice beside our court only. I saw how smoothly and efficiently she was moving in the court. There's no one who moves this smoothly.”

She added that she analyzed their movements and asked Sindhu several questions about the techniques and training routines they follow.

“I was watching her (An Se-young) stepping and all and how easily she's playing on the court. I was asking Sindhu Didi as well what you need to increase strength to the level that she has because at the international level, you need good attacking strokes, especially the smash should be very good, and the follow-up as well. I asked her how to increase my strength, and she told me, use the panhandle kind of grip when I hit smashes, and you need good food and do more gym because if you need strength, you need to have good food plus you need to have good gym sessions as well.”

After the Asian Games, Upadhyaya trained at the BAI Center in Guwahati and discussed and implemented her learnings in her training regime before heading to Goa for the National Games.

“Before the national games, for one and a half weeks I was there (BAI Center) only, so I was discussing with those coaches as well that Sindhu Didi told me this and that, that I need to work on my gym and all.”

“I think it's all about mindset" Anupama Upadhyaya on the possibility of defeating An Se-young and other top shuttlers

When discussing the gap between her and the top players like An Se-young, Anupama emphasized the significance of mindset. She believed that while her opponents had their strengths, the gap wasn't insurmountable; it was all about the mental game.

“I think it's all about mindset. It's not like that; we can't defeat An Se-young. I think it's about mindset in how we play on that day because I have seen An Se-young play. I think she doesn't have very good strokes. She just plays a positive game, and that really, you know, disturbs other people's' minds. I think that's her strength. And I think she has good stamina and good stepping. I think that's why she doesn't get tired so fast because she moves very smoothly on the court and, very easily, she reaches everywhere. I think her anticipation is also very good. I think that helps a lot.”

While admitting that mindset is a major aspect of playing as well as the top players, Upadhyaya also acknowledges that gaining experience through consistently competing in major tournaments was a vital part of bridging the gap with international players. Playing at different venues allows her to adapt to varying conditions, which was crucial for facing international competitors. She added:

“I think I have not played many tournaments, like 300 and 500; I have not got a chance. But I think if you continuously play at that circuit, you get adapted to those conditions and all, because when you play at the national level, there are bigger courts, shuttle conditions, and all; those are different; food and all; it's different. So, I think once you start playing that circuit, I think that really helps you to perform well with the international players as well. So, I think it's all about experience as well.”

While talking about the importance of having the right mindset, Anupama spoke about the importance of a sports psychologist in achieving that goal and how going to one helped her improve too.

“I think the first thing is that when you go to a sports psychologist, you need to trust him or her that she won't tell these things to any other person. You need to trust her. You need to follow whatever she tells you, and you need to share your outcome as well. And I think I have really done really well with Jenny ma'am.”

She went on to add:

“I think it has really helped me during the game and before the game as well, because when you play some top player, maybe a player who is equal to you, and you've been playing with him or her for a long time and you have been playing close matches with her, then you have that the difference is small; mentally, you need to prepare yourself for that match."

“I think with Aditi (Bhatt), I've played so many matches, and it's always been a close match with her because we both were training under DK Sen Sir only from a very young age. So, we know each other's game and all. I think that mentally only that (going to a psychologist) has helped me during the match (at the National Games) with Aditi.” Upadhyaya concluded.