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The action-packed tone of play has been replaced by stamina-sapping extended rallies and the 29-year-old badminton ace looks to adjust to the change of course in the sport.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu (PTI)
Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu, who has had to endure a challenging year with multiple early exits, opened up about the transformation the women’s sport has witnessed in recent times.
The quick-paced, action-packed, aggressive tone of play has been replaced by stamina-sapping extended rallies and the 29-year-old badminton ace looks to adjust to the change of course in the sport.
“The women’s singles competition has completely changed. Initially it was more of attack and fast rallies; it has become much more defensive with long rallies and long matches,” the star from Hyderabad said.
“We have been working on that, especially in terms of being more patient to continue that rally and keep the shuttle in the court for a longer period of time. Because we have to make changes every time the game changes,” he continued.
“As an athlete I have been changing my game, it might take time but it’s important to do it every time,” Sindhu added.
“Back then I used to attack but now every athlete is good in their defence. We are working on how patient I need to be to maintain the rally let’s say 30 strokes or 40 strokes,” she explained.
Sindhu, who has been training under Indonesian Irwansyah Adi Pratama for the past six months, opened up on making minor tweaks to her game to suit the times.
“I need to keep a check on my physical fitness, endurance. Because I need to withstand the court for a very long period. So, that way we have been working on these changes and it’s good that Irwansyah has come and is training me,” she said.
“I’m happy that I could do everything, whatever was under my control, and won every medal. Now it is also important to make sure to maintain it. I know people might say ‘you have won everything there’s no pressure’ but I have to make sure it’s going on,” Sindhu added.
The former badminton world champion, who also has two Olympic medals in her decorated trophy cabinet, touched upon the necessity to be mindful of her game and workload considering her age.
“It’s not going to be the same as it was 10 years ago. Back then I would do a different type of training but now it might be different. So, I need to understand that as a player,” Sindhu reflected.
“I need to understand that things might change and we adapt accordingly. Every time we need to make sure our body is in the right direction and we are able to take load, otherwise there are chances of injury and it’s hard to come back,” she continued.
“Definitely the training module has changed. Earlier we used to have back to back four-five tournaments. But now you have to make sure your body condition is good, you can’t just go out there and play five-six tournaments in a row and not being fit.”
“We need to make sure how the body is feeling after one tournament, otherwise there’s no point playing. You rather skip a tournament and train harder and then come back stronger,” she added.
Sindhu, who’s deepest run in the ongoing season came at the Indian open where she reached the quarterfinal of the event, has had to settle for hard-fought losses in recent times, but the shuttler opted to look at the silver lining in the defeats.
“Recent results definitely bother me. But there’s been an improvement. I think five-six tournaments back I was losing a bit easy but there’s been improvement with some tough matches with top athletes,” Sindhu elucidated.
“That’s a positive thing I can take and work on what’s required,” she concluded.
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