India were up 1-0 against Indonesia in the second match of the Sudirman Cup thanks to a stellar effort put in by Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto. And it was all on PV Sindhu thereafter. Had she won against Putri Kusuma Wardani, India had a chance to make the quarter final. A loss would mean Indonesia were back level and would walk away with the tie, since India were missing key players like Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Unfortunately for India, Sindhu was no match for Wardani. A straight-game loss and it did not come as a surprise to many. Sindhu has been struggling and that’s the reality. Hard to accept, but the truth. Does she have a final hurrah left, or has the moment come to call time? While no one can ask a sportsperson to call it a day, the truth is Sindhu is nowhere close to her best. It has been almost three years now, and with younger players coming through the ranks, the road ahead is fraught with obstacles.
Exactly 24 hours ahead of the Japan Open final in 2019, Pullela Gopichand, who was still coaching Sindhu, had sounded quietly confident. “The courts are on the slower side, and in conditions like these, Sindhu will always do well because of her physical agility,” said Gopi. “Players have to play every day and by the time we get to the final, the body starts to give up on you. Sindhu is different, for she can keep going for days and weeks.”
While Chen Yufei complained of fatigue and cited it as a reason for her failure against Sindhu, for the Indian, it was all in a day’s work and there was no signs of fatigue.
The physicality and aggression that Gopi talked about did not come easy to her. And it is this physicality that has been missing in her game since she got injured after the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (2022). Out of action for six months, she has looked out of sorts since.
For Sindhu, it has already been a great career. Two Olympic medals stand testimony. A journey that has made her a household name in India and elevated her to a cult figure. A symbol of women’s empowerment and an aspirational story. But does she have much left in the tank, or is she now on borrowed time?
At the moment, she is miles behind An Se Young, Akane Yamaguchi, and Chen. Gregoria Tunjung, Wardani and many others also have an upper hand against her. Her journey, which started to gather steam in Rio and picked further momentum in Tokyo, finally seems to be slowing down. The rediscovery of Sindhu, India’s greatest badminton player ever, is seemingly a far cry.
She has changed many coaches in the interim, and tried all kinds of permutations and combinations. None of it has worked. A match here or there has indeed stood out, but such instances have been few and far between. The best of Sindhu, dare I say, is now part of the archives. We need to press the rewind button to see it. As Sindhu supporters, it is painful, and maybe that’s why we hope for a final hurrah. While the heart wants it badly, the mind says it isn’t going to happen.
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