Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has been far from her best in 2023. She has been majorly inconsistent after returning from injury. We saw the same thing happen in the Singapore Open as she bowed out of the round of 32 with a defeat against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
It was difficult to see the reigning Singapore Open champion lose 21-18, 19-21, 17-21. However, she has vowed to come back stronger than ever in her upcoming events. During her post-match interview, Sindhu broke down as the results have not favoured her. She revealed that she is making good progress but hasn’t had the desired results to show for it.
“Progress-wise, it’s been fine. But today was anybody’s game. Overall, I’m happy I’m back on the court after the injury because sometimes,” she told BWF media.
She broke down to tears during this conversation as it was tough to end up on the wrong end after fighting so hard against Yamaguchi. However, she regained her composure and promised her fans to come back stronger than ever. She also highlighted that she has one eye on the Olympics as well.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to lose close matches but I’m going to come back stronger,” she promised. “It’s important I go back and learn from my mistakes. It’s an Olympic qualification year so I just want to get back to my best and stay injury-free,” Sindhu explained.
Sindhu’s biggest error in judgement was to continue to fight at the Commonwealth Games when she was already suffering from an injury. Although she won the gold medal in Birmingham, she was out of action for four months. It was a huge setback for her as she still trying to get back to her best.
The experienced shuttler returned to court in Malaysia in January this year. Although she suffered many early exits from events, she roared back with a runner-up performance in the Spain masters. She reached the semifinals of the Malaysian Masters as well. Hence, there were plenty of positives for the Double Olympic medallist.
Sindhu reveals that she is very close to being at her best. “Not too far, just need the rhythm back. So far so good,” he revealed.
There are plenty of events lined up for this year and Sindhu will need to get her rhythm back to put up top performances. Also, with the Olympics scheduled next year, Sindhu will hope to be at her best in the quadrennial event.
