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It was so near, yet so far for PV Sindhu. It is Silver again and not the Gold. The lanky shuttler tried her best but still had to settle for silver in the World Championships. In the one-hour 50-minute slugfest, the longest match of the World Championship, Sindhu lost the title 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 to Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.
After Silver in Olympics, once again Sindhu had to settle for Silver in World Championship. The 22-year-old shuttler was involved in perhaps the best women's singles final with all the beautiful strokes, drop-shots and drives on display. It was only the matter of a few points that separated Sindhu and Nozomi.
Sindhu saved a championship point trailing 19-20, but luck deserted her as the Japanese girl scored the next two.
The poster girl of Indian sports spoke exclusively to SportsKeeda about her losses, future plans and more.
Excerpts:
Q: You missed gold again. Any regrets?
Sindhu: Yes, I missed it again but I do not think I have any regrets. It was a good match and overall it was one of the longest matches and both of us played really well. It was anybody’s game and I was just unlucky.
Q: The entire nation watched your match leaving India vs Sri Lanka cricket match behind. You forced Indians to watch badminton and not cricket. Your thoughts.
Sindhu: Well, it really feels great. Even though the cricket match was going on but everybody was watching badminton, so of course it is good to know about it. Badminton as a sport has improved and also has been noticed. In one way it is good that badminton has got such a recognition.
Q: Take us through that 73-shot rally.
Sindhu: In the second set, that rally was very important to me. It was a very crucial juncture of the game. I took that point and won the game.
If I would not have taken that point, anything could have happened. She had already won one game. It was really a long rally and I enjoyed it.
Q: You have become the poster girl of Indian sports. How does that feel?
Sindhu: I am happy to know that. I think I have to keep up the same thing and keep going. I have to perform even better.
Q: What is your target in Tokyo Olympics?
Sindhu: Talking about Tokyo Olympics, I think I still have time. I need to take it gradually. I want to focus one at a time. Before Tokyo Olympics, I have many major tournaments coming up. I hope I do well in those tournaments as well.
Q: What went wrong in the World Championship final?
Sindhu: I do not think anything in particular that went wrong. As I said, I was unlucky that day. Anybody could have won that match. After 20-20 in the third round, it was anybody’s game. At that time, each point was equally tough. It was a long and demanding match. Even she (Nozomi Okuhara) was playing really well. It was tough. I was unlucky.
Q: Which loss is more painful to you? World Championship or Olympics?
Sindhu: Comparing Olympics and this is difficult. Both the tournaments were totally different. In the World Championships, I could have won the Gold but just missed it narrowly. Both of losses were painful. The Olympics are huge but so is the World Championships for us. I do not want to draw a comparison between these two tournaments.
Q: Tell us about your coach Gopichand’s contribution to your success?
Sindhu: Yes, he has played a major role to improve my game. I am training with him for a very long time and I think because of him I am here today. I am improving year by year. I am very happy training under him and I wish I do even better in future. I am thankful to him.
Q: How difficult it is to keep away mobiles and yearnings for good food.
Sindhu: Well, keeping away phones and everything is tough but there should be sacrifices in life to achieve something. I do not have any regrets. In a way, it helped me a lot to focus more on my game.
My coach always wanted the best for me so he did it and I am fine with that. I do not think I have missed anything. It started at the time of Olympics.
Q: Your message for your fans across India.
Sindhu: I would like to thank everybody for his or her support and blessings. The fans have been very supportive all the time.
In India, if any child wants to pursue any sport then I feel the parents’ support is very important. Apart from that, if children work hard then success will come automatically. That’s the key. I am thankful to all of you. Thank you so much.
