PV Sindhu - Under a lot of pressure

It is a very common phenomenon in life as well as sport, that whenever you desperately need to achieve something at a crucial stage, it somehow slips away. PV Sindhu’s story is no different. Much before the historical clash between the two titans, there was a general perception that Sindhu is going to overtake Saina Nehwal.

The reason was simple – PV Sindhu had won a bronze in the world badminton championship whereas Saina could not reach the semi-finals, and lost to a much lower ranked player. Initially, this came as a big shocker, but then Pulela Gopichand explained that Saina was sick. But this did not hamper the fighting spirit of Saina and the whole nation witnessed her making a grand comeback despite lagging behind in the first game of the clash against Sindhu in IBL. The moral of the story for Sindhu is simple – do not lose your morale and spirit, for the possibilities and your capabilities are unlimited.

On the other hand, the hype generated by the media and the supporters apparently put a hidden pressure on Sindhu. Not only did Sindhu become hard pressed to win her own match, but being the captain the onus of victory of the Awadhe Warriors lay on her tender shoulders. Captaincy itself is a real big responsibility. Especially when it is thrust upon an 18 year old girl – that too in a grand event – the level of stress increases many fold.

All these put together resulted in a low key performance. Although, we can also say that fatigue may have played a part in her defeat to Saina. But I am sure she can bounce back. Sindhu is a born fighter who is mentally tough. She just needs to win the crucial moments, and she can become a world champion like Ratchanok. Sindhu has attributes similar to Ratchanok, but she just needs a little more stamina and needs to handle pressure better.

Once Sindhu gets her desired level of confidence, she will make a quick recovery. In fact, many of the fans believe that because Sindhu is very young, once she loses her rhythm, her natural aggressive style vanishes, and her returns also get affected. During the match against Saina, the commentators said that once she is down, her body language drops considerably. The loss of concentration in this competitive game, clubbed with the pressure makes it really difficult to recover quickly.

I am sure that her mentor and coach Gopichand would have worked out a strategy to overcome these hurdles and she will outshine in today’s match. After all, she is the star attraction of IBL and badminton as a whole. Best wishes.