MUMBAI: World badminton champion PV Sindhu was disappointed when the Tokyo Olympics were postponed last year, but she utilised the free time to work on rectifying her mistakes. The ace Indian shuttler recently returned to the court at the Thailand Open but crashed out in the first round. Sindhu says losses remind her of the need to come back stronger the next time.
"I learnt a lot last year. The first thing was patience, because we had no tournaments for a couple of months. We couldn't step out or play badminton, and we needed to have patience," Sindhu told IANS while delving upon her realisations amid the ongoing Covid crisis.
"I spent a lot more time with my family because (earlier) all the time was spent travelling to tournaments and back. This was the first time I spent a lot more time with my family. I was training at home. One thing I've learned is patience, and being positive all the time," added the champion, whose life has inspired a biopic, which is currently under development.
Sindhu continued: "Last year around March and April, we were getting ready for the Olympics. Unfortunately that got postponed. I was a bit sad, but then I took it in a positive way thinking I now had a lot more time to learn, rectify my mistakes and work on my strokes'. So, that way (I learnt) to stay positive and move forward."
The Tokyo Olympics were slated to be held in July-August last year, but got delayed because of the pandemic, which disrupted the calendar of all events in 2020.
With normalcy gradually setting in, Sindhu returned to the badminton court at the Thailand Open. However, she didn't have a great start. The current world champion crashed out in the opening round of the tournament after losing to Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt. It was Sindhu's first tournament since the All England Open in March last year.
"I am excited to be back on court," noted the Rio Olympic silver medallist, adding that she is "just focusing on my badminton right now".
For the 25-year-old, losses are as important as wins.
"I would like to say to all the young juniors that parental support is very important. When I started playing badminton, my parents supported me a lot. And (I feel parents) need to understand what their kid is interested in and support them in that particular thing.
"(Another thing is) When you start, you lose some and you win some. When you lose, there is always a sad thing (because) you always want to win. That doesn't happen. But you will learn a lot more from your losses," she shared.
"I have learnt a lot more from my losses, and you need to come back stronger the next time," shared the star player, who was a celebrity guest on the show, "Young Genius".
(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)
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