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PV Sindhu – ‘Working on being patient and endurance to continue long rallies of 30-40 shots'
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu is working on her game to reinvent herself as per the evolving tempo of women's singles across the globe, and adapting to how her body responds to the intensity of training.
The 29-year-old visited the Sports Sciences facility at the SAI Center Bengaluru to undergo the isokinetic test and assess the muscle power and strength in her knee, hip, and shoulder.
'We have two more weeks before we start off with Japan (July 15-20) and China Open (July 22-27). So, I am here to make sure I am physically and mentally fit,' Sindhu told reporters here on Thursday.
Sindhu has been training under Indonesian coach Irwansyah at the Padukone Dravid Center of Excellence in Bengaluru for the past six months, and the focus of the duo has been working on patience in longer matches and construction of longer rallies. 'The game in women's singles has changed from what it was when I started. Initially it was more of an attack and fast rallies, but now it's more of (longer) rallies; the game has slowed down. So accordingly, I need to change my training schedule. Back then I used to attack, but now every athlete is good in their defence,' Sindhu says.
Recently, while playing on the BWF tour, Sindhu has been constantly playing duels that mostly go to the deciders. She has been involved in longer rallies that require more physical endurance. 'These days I need to maintain my patience during longer rallies. I am playing rallies that have 30 or 40 strokes. So accordingly, I need to do my physical fitness and endurance. Because I need to withstand being on the court for a very long period. So that way, we have been doing changes, and it's good that Irwansyah has come and is training me.'
Sindhu says women's singles has gotten more defensive, forcing her to work on the rally game. 'As I said that women's singles has changed and it has been more defensive with long rallies and long matches. We have been working on that, especially in terms of being patient enough to continue that rally and keep the shuttle in the court for a longer period of time,' said Sindhu about the changes in her game.
Sindhu, who won her first major international medal at the age of 18 at the 2013 World Championships, has been on the wrong side of injuries and a burnt-out body due to the physical grind of the sport in the past few years.
'My body is not the way it was ten years back. It was easy to play back-to-back four or five tournaments, but now it is important to make sure that the body is fit after one tournament. At this age, one can't play five consecutive tournaments and not be fit after that. You'll have an injury and make it worse,' said Sindhu.
'It is important to make sure of how the body is feeling after one tournament; otherwise, there is no point in playing. You'd rather skip a tournament and train harder and then come back stronger,' she added further.
The double Olympic medallist is having a lean phase this year with four first-round exits and three second round losses. Her best performance was at the India Open back in January where she reached quarter-finals.
When asked how she feels about her 2025 season, she said, 'The recent results definitely bother me. But there's been an improvement. I think 5-6 tournaments back I was losing a bit easy but there's been improvement with some tough matches with the top athletes.'
One of the things that has been constant with Sindhu's game is losing the deciding game. But she has been working on the mental aspect to deal with close loses. 'Mentally I have been working on dealing with close losses. Sometimes you can't say no to being sad. It does happen but it's important to bounce back and take it positively. There are a lot of positives that I can take and work on what's required. It's little bit different and we are changing that and hopefully in China and Japan you will see.'
'We have two more weeks before we start off with Japan and China. After a long time we have got couple of weeks of break. It was a six week-break after Indonesia. It is important to make sure you are fit and 100 percent physically and mentally,' she concluded.
(The writer is in NCOE, Bengaluru on the invitation of Sports Authority of India.)
