Despite recent setbacks, Sindhu confident of turning the corner on the tour
Training with Indonesian coach Irwansyah since the beginning of this year, Sindhu has come close on a couple of occasions but fallen short, specially in matches that stretched into the decider. 'The women's singles game has changed. Earlier it was more of attack and fast rallies but now it's much more defensive with long rallies and long matches, the game has slowed down.
'I need to change my training schedule accordingly. I need to do my physical fitness and endurance. We have been working on that, especially in terms of being more patient to continue the rallies and keep the shuttle in play for 30-40 strokes,' the double Olympic medalist told select mediapersons at the SAI Centre here on Thursday.
Sindhu, who was visiting to test her strength and endurance at the SAI Bengaluru's state-of-the-art Sports Science Centre, insisted there were no concerns but admitted training and recovery modules have to adapt with age. 'Fitness and training wise everything is going well. We have two more weeks to prepare before we start off with Japan and China. It is important to be 100 percent fit physically and mentally otherwise it will be difficult to come back from injuries.
'We used to play multiple consecutive events in our 20s. But now you have to make sure your body condition is good, you can't just go out there and play 5-6 tournaments in a row and not be fit, risk injury and make it worse. You need to make sure how the body is feeling after every tournament,' she said.
Questions about her recent results were inevitable and Sindhu admitted they were a concern but added that things were moving in the right direction. 'I know people might say you have won everything, there's no pressure. But it is important to make sure I maintain it. Recent results definitely bother me. I have been working on changing my mindset after losses. Sometimes you just get sad but it's important to bounce back. Earlier I was losing easily but recently there have been some tough matches with top athletes. The difference is little but hopefully in China and Japan you will see the results,' she signed off.
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