Pullela Gopichand has disclosed which areas PV Sindhu needs work on to improve her game. He also reflected that Carolina Marin was indeed the deserving winner at the Rio Olympics.
Gopichand, who himself had an illustrious career in badminton, has coached two of India's most successful badminton players in recent times, Saina Nehwal, who won the bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics, and Sindhu.
Also read: PV Sindhu to return to court at Denmark Open
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In a candid interview with the Times of India (TOI), the Dronacharya of Indian badminton spoke about how Sindhu needs to improve certain aspects of her game to become a 'complete player'.
Gopichand, who is the most in-demand badminton coach in the country, visited Chennai this weekend to announce a yoga festival scheduled to be held later this month. Speaking to TOI, he said, "There are lots of areas in the game that she (Sindhu) needs to work on and improve. It's not that she is a complete player because of her achievement in Rio."
However, he also added that the player has great potential and the fact that she is only 21 helps her cause. "Of course, what we saw in Rio was really encouraging. She has a great potential. She is only 21. She has age on her side and she will go a long way," Gopichand said.
When asked about the final of the Olympics in which Sindhu went down to world number 1, Marin, he said that the Spaniard was the deserving winner and how Sindhu failed to capitalize on the chances she got in the third set.
Also read: PV Sindhu has a coach I never had, says Pullela Gopichand's wife PVV Lakshmi
The famous coach said, "When she won the first set, I kept telling myself that it wasn't over yet. I was just hoping that she would wrap it up well. I don't think it was because she crumbled under pressure that she lost the next two sets. Marin was quite smart from the beginning of the second set.
"There were parts of the third set when Sindhu had chances to take advantage. Had she gotten a few points then, things would have been different. But overall, Marin was a better performer and she clearly deserved the gold."
Sindhu returns to court for the first time since her successful Olympic campaign when she takes on world number 11 He Bingjiao on Wednesday in the Denmark Open. This comes exactly two months from the day she won her silver medal.
