PV Sindhu heads to Paris Olympics with an advantage after winning two Olympic medals, says Prakash Padukone
Renowned Indian badminton coach Prakash Padukone believes that PV Sindhu has a good chance of bagging a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He stated that her experience of the occasion, having previously won two medals at the Games, will serve her in good stead.
Sindhu won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games. At the next edition in Tokyo, she clinched the bronze medal and became only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympics.
While the 29-year-old has not been at her best recently, her coach Padukone believes that it will work in her favor as it will reduce the pressure on her shoulders.
"She has not been at her best recently, this might reduce the pressure on her. Expectations are lower, and even reaching the quarter-finals will be seen positively. But I am looking beyond that. If she is able to reproduce the form, like what she’s doing in practice, I think she’ll do better than in the past tournaments," he said in an exclusive conversation with JioCinema.
"The difference at the top is so little, and it is also about handling pressure in the Olympics, and Sindhu has an advantage as she has won two Olympic medals. We keep reminding her to focus on her game, and the end result will be good," he added.
Prakash Padukone gives an insight into PV Sindhu's training schedule
PV Sindhu is leaving no stone unturned in her preparations for the Paris Olympics. She recently trained in Saarbrucken, Germany, a place whose altitude and weather are very similar to the French capital's.
Her coach Prakash Padukone gave a little insight into what they were focusing on with Sindhu during her training sessions, both mental and physical.
"I am focusing on tactics and strategy on the court, on what strokes to use when, and a little to do with the mind. About nine months ago, she was little low on confidence due to frequent coaching changes and not being able to identify what was going wrong," he explained.
"We've worked on her mental strength and strategy, ensuring she makes better use of the right strokes. We’ve tried to cut down on mistakes and playing percentage badminton — knowing when to attack, defend, and play safe. So it is finally all coming through, but it remains to be seen if she can reproduce that form during the Olympics," he added.
A third medal at the Summer Games will not only make Sindhu's dreams come true but also make her the most successful individual Indian Olympian of all time.