S.Kannan in Hangzhou
Cheer the champion, do a slam dunk on them when they are down and out. How true is this of Indian sport where winners are expected to be like robots, not humans. On a day when PV Sindhu crashed out of the women’s singles quarter-finals to China’s own smart cookie He Bing jiao in the Asian Games, carping critics were at their worst.
This “I told you so” sneer on social media was overflowing as if people wanted the darling of Indian badminton to lose. Only a pervert will wish an athlete bad. Only a pervert will celebrate when a champion is going through a bad phase. Sindhu is in trouble, no doubting that, but to write her off would be premature.
Damn, look at this lady’s record. Two Olympic medals in Rio and Tokyo, a former World Champion, two medals from the last two editions of the Asian Games in Incheon and Jakarta, how could Hangzhou be her swansong.
No way.
Please cheer her, please clap for her. Sindhu gave India highs and medals. Now it is India’s turn to back Sindhu when she is going through a rough ride. Agreed, her form in 2023 has been poor, agreed she has struggled to string together wins in this season. Does that make her useless? Not really. Bad runs are not a rarity for a champion, even Michael Schumacher faced it on return to Mercedes in F1 and so did Virat Kohli last year. None of them was punished on media and social media so harshly.
Kindness does not cost a penny. In India, we are at a stage where we have started recognising health, mental health and many more parameters to ensure an athlete is insulated when he or she is in trouble. Trouble here is in a relative sense when the winning sequence has been arrested. Trouble here is when there is confusion and not clarity in the thought process of an athlete, leading to poor results.
There are any number of people who will give free, unsolicited advice to PV Sindhu. She does not need it. To be sure, when Sindhu took the flight from Hyderabad to Bengaluru and train at Prakash Padukone’s centre for excellence, it was pressing the panic button.
Sindhu needed help and she flew to the same Guru who had helped Saina Nehwal just before the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. At that time, Saina had split with P. Gopichand and decided that she wanted to train with Vimal Kumar. The same Vimal Kumar has assessed Sindhu and said before the Asian Games began, she is not in good space. His interview to a wire service was sensational yet honest.
Again, what Vimal said was an assessment. As a coach, he may have been fair and frank in saying Sindhu needs technical corrections in her game. Nothing can happen overnight, unless it is a miracle. Yes, Sindhu may have been reckless in using the hire and fire policy like tennis players who dump coaches. She split with Gopi and then the Korean coach Park, the same guy who had plotted her win at the Tokyo Olympics.
Today, Sindhu has a Malaysian on board, who is more of a trainer. Rewind to the Covid 19 pandemic when Indian athletes were struggling to train. During the dark days of 2020 and 2021, Sindhu was working on her fitness and speed. She was using a private academy in Hyderabad as well to hone her skills. How does one forget that aspect of Sindhu who was not afraid of the pandemic and wanted to give it her best shot. It resulted in a bronze medal in Tokyo.
Not many would know, Sindhu was injured at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Yet, she did not even tell her parents and continued to play with the ankle injury. Later, she told her father PV Ramanna she was dying to win a medal for the country and continued to risk it in Birmingham.
This is a real story, which not many are aware of. Once she was back in Hyderabad from Britain, the ortho surgeons told her to rest completely, not put any pressure on her feet. The recovery and rehab process were slow at the same time in 2022 but she did her maximum to get back strength.
A player of Sindhu’s calibre cannot be condemned for average performances in one year. Saina Nehwal has gone through this same rut, of being unable to win matches in the past. Critics were slamming her but Saina continued to train and attempt her best.
What is the way forward for Sindhu is a good question to ask. In Prakash Padukone she sees a father figure who can guide her in every way possible. Apart from the badminton skills, Prakash is a brilliant human being who can work on the psyche. After all, he has lent a shoulder to daughter cine star Deepika Padukone whenever needed.
If Sindhu has spoken glowingly about Prakash Padukone before competing in Hangzhou, it says a lot. There is trust and confidence, he is the boss she believes in. In times like these, no point in running around to a mind trainer or a sports psychologist. The people close to you are the ones who will guide the best.
Maybe, Sindhu needs rest and just switch off from badminton for a few weeks or even a month plus. To point out flaws in her game is so easy. Please try and understand her mental state. Once she is relaxed, composed and able to get back that confidence, the same smashes which are missing today will reappear.
Her court speed will also be back and her skills at the net. If one does not have patience and respect for PV Sindhu, that is being mean. The daughter of the nation deserves her space, her privacy and love. What do they say in this sport: Love All, Play