“I think she's going as a dark horse and underdog” - Former shuttler backs PV Sindhu at Paris 2024 Olympics despite form concerns
With the Paris 2024 Olympics set to start in less than a day, India’s star shuttler PV Sindhu will go into this year's Olympic Games as an ‘underdog’, claimed former badminton player Parupalli Kashyap.
Kashyap, who has been working as an Olympics expert at JioCinema and Sports18, said that two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu will carry a mental edge over her opponents despite her lukewarm form of late.
“It's her third Olympics, she won two medals in the last two Olympics and several world championship medals. So I think she feels she has an edge already even though her ranking doesn't say it or her recent form doesn't say it,” Kashyap was quoted saying by PTI.
“In major events, I think the opponents also are a little wary of her even though she's not in form. I think she's going as a dark horse and underdog considering the last two years of women's singles,” he added.
“She's a big-match player” - Parupalli Kashyap confident that PV Sindhu will get over recent setbacks at Paris 2024 Olympics
PV Sindhu is one of India’s leading hopes for a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, having won a silver medal at Rio 2016 and a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020. Along with this, she also won the Singapore Open Super 500 title as well as a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
However, since a left ankle injury and a subsequent knee injury, Sindhu has gone through a phase of poor form and results. Her best results in the period have been reaching the finals of the Madrid Spain Masters 2023 and the Malaysia Masters 2024, but she suffered early exits at the French Open Super 750, All England Open Super 1000, and Swiss Open Super 300, among others.
Despite this, Parupalli Kashyap is confident that PV Sindhu’s Olympic credentials will make her a formidable opponent against more fancied opponents at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“There are clear four athletes in the women's singles who are out-and-out favorites to make it to the medal rounds but I'm sure they are wary and a little tense about facing Sindhu because she's a big-match player and her game style is also very suited to major events,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
“She's an out-and-out attacking player and backs herself with a fitness level as well,” he added.
India has sent a seven-member badminton contingent to the Paris 2024 Olympics, which is scheduled to start on July 26. Now in Paris, PV Sindhu will aim to win a third successive Olympic medal this time.