Hyderabad, Aug 22 (IANS) India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Monday said the world has seen only glimpses of what Olympic silver medalist P.V. Sindhu is capable of.
He feels that Sindhu is still far away from complete transformation.
"I still believe we have seen only glimpses of what she is capable of. I believe she got more potential. I am waiting for her to realize this. It might take time. We need to be patient and we need to understand results may not come as consistently as we want them," he told reporters on return from the Rio Olympics.
"It's important she tries and believes in her. she is just 21 and she has got probably 10 years of career ahead. Hopefully, when she realizes what I see in my eyes, she will be heads and shoulders above rest of the world," said Sindhu's coach.
Gopichand advised the star shuttler to get physically stronger, technically better and mentally rock solid.
He said what makes him proud about Sindhu is the fact that she delivers at the big stage when it is needed.
"Many a time you will have athletes who will have the game and belief but when it's big stage and final moment, they crack," Gopichand said.
"She has not been greatly consistent but somewhere hunch was with me that she will deliver when it is required, and she did it at World Championship twice. She did it two to three times a year, performed well in tournaments but fantastic to see her perform when needed the most," he added.
Gopichand was all praise for her hard work, dedication and discipline. For past six years, they spent lot of time early in the morning at Gopichand Badminton Academy and she never complained when he asked her to come for the first session at 4.15 a.m.
"I think for me there is always motivation. It's good that we have somebody who is close to achieving biggest stage and someone dedicated to put in that work and had fundamentals built in to push herself," said Gopichand.
The coach revealed that he thought of retiring when he won the All England Championship and again in 2012 when India got bronze medal. But every time he got renewed energy to push for more with the kind of affection and support he got and the responsibility he felt, he said.
Gopichand said it was not about one man but the entire team including other coaches, trainers, physios and administration.
"The entire story is about bunch of people motivated to see results. Sindhu and parents made the whole circle and this made Olympic medal possible," he said.
On his body language while watching the matches, Gopichand said that they were motivated and wanted to give their 100 percent. He said the body language added to Sindhu's passion. "At events like Olympics, it's not about how much of game you have, it's about how much heart you have."
He also revealed that Sindhu and K. Srikant were pumped up and there was a change in the body language as before every match he used to tell them how only sportspersons can make the entire nation happy and proud. They also used sing national anthem before the match.
--IANS
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