PV Sindhu's return to competitive badminton post the Covid-19 pandemic break did not quite go as planned.
The star Indian shuttler returned to the court after playing the All England Championships in February last year, by taking part in two editions of the Thailand Open and the BWF World Tour Finals, held in January 2021 in Bangkok.
Her post-lockdown comeback though was far from ideal as Sindhu had disappointing returns in all the three tournaments. Sindhu was knocked out in the first round at the Yonex Thailand Open before making it to the quarter-finals of the Toyota Thailand Open. She could just win one match at the BWF World Tour Finals, and returned to India empty handed.
However, the champion shuttler doesn't seem to be too perturbed by her performances. Instead, Sindhu is looking to use the lessons learnt from Bangkok to prepare well for the Tokyo Olympics.
“Definitely, not a good start to the year but I am happy we’re back on the court again. It’s good to play sports. Winning and losing are a part of life but playing and enjoying sport is very important,” PV Sindhu said after a poor return to court post covid-19.
“I’ve learnt a lot from my losses in Bangkok. You do take away a lot from your mistakes. That’s what I picked up from the Asian leg. I came back and started training to iron out my chinks. I am hoping to come back much stronger,” she concluded.
Pusarla represented India at the 2016 Summer Olympics and ended up turning the first Indian badminton player to reach an Olympic final. She won the silver medal after losing out to Spain's Carolina Marin in a 83-minute final which won hearts all across India.
Sindhu became the youngest and first female individual Indian to bag an Olympic Silver medal and only the second Indian badminton player to record a podium finish at the Olympics.
Only the second woman after Zhang Ning to win five or more medals at the world championships, Sindhu is one of the leading medal probables for India in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, which is why the recent losses have come as a setback.
However, with the kind of total lockdown imposed in India, and the lack of training facilities at home or in residential compounds, it is only understandable. Expect the Indian shuttler to bounce back with full force shortly.
