P. V. Sindhu thread - Rio Olympics Silver medal winner

[prasen9]

I would any time take Sindhu's inconsistency as long as it gives medals in big events like olympics, world championships, Asiad which Sindhu has managed. We have forever lamented about our players doing well in lower level tournaments and faltering at bigger events. Here we have a player who is exactly the opposite and we cannot keep lamenting that too.

Slightly differe Sameer. I would rather take a Sindhu than the archer or shooting chokers. But, I will lament not having it all. I believe Marin possibly is more consistent than Sindhu in the lower-level tournaments. Why can't we have it all?

Of course, different lamentations/complaining is different. There is a difference between complaining about not having food and complaining about not having ice-cream. But, it is okay to complain that you do not have ice-cream when the neighbor does.

Replying to a comment by another poster above. Sindhu is a great. If you say top-5 all-time greats in the game, maybe not. But, she is a all-time great player. Two Olympic medals is not easy. Very few have it. In badminton.

So, why does Sindhu not turn it on day in and day out? Maybe it is too exhausting/stressful for her mind and body and she has accepted that this is the level she can play all year round and then peak to give that extra push in the big tournaments?

I think Jay and I had an email conversation in 2003 or a bit before when we did not have the forum but he had his page. Leander used to turn it on like crazy during Davis Cup. The question is why can he not play like that in regular tournaments. The answer was that perhaps his mind and body could not be coaxed to get that hyped up. And, we also saw that if LP played more than two weeks in a row, half the time he was injured and out. His schedule needed management. Maybe his mind too.

Otherwise, they will burnout. All this is of course pontification.

[sameerph]

Sameer this is still a Super 1000 event. Almost equivalent to a Grand Slam in tennis parlance.

Tennis and badminton are different. In tennis grand slams are considered ultimate, nothing called world championships is there. Also olympic medal is not as valued, it is almost like another grand slam title. In Badminton an olympic medal is much much higher than getting to say a SF in one these super 1000 tournaments. That is what Sindhu doing well in those tournaments which matter most in badminton is welcome.

As Prasen said, someone doing well both in biggest tournaments and also little lower ones such as this one is even better. But, if we do not have any such player and if we are given an option to chose between a player who does well a lot in these level events but falter at Olympics/WC/ Asiad etc and those like Sindhu who are other way around, I would prefer those like Sindhu.

[rajitghosh]

Sameer, you may find it a little counter intuitive but in badminton the so called "Super" events earlier called Super Series Premier and Super Series and now the Super 1000 and 750 have very small fields with all the big players playing. In the WOrld Championship and Olympics becuase there are quota systems with each country allowed to send 2 players at maximum and smaller countries getting quota places the early rounds become very easy and winning2-3 rounds becomes easy and you can ease yourself into the tournament. The real competition starts after that. So it is far tougher to compete in these Super events and you have to hit your peak from Round 1 or 2. That is where Sindhu has not been very good.
In tennis Grand Slams with 32 seeds being there, the top players don't run into tough compeitotrs before round 3 or 4. Again a case of easing yourself into the event.
Hence to me Sindhu not well in the Super events doesn't reflect well on her showing she is a little iffy against tough competition in the early rounds. It is different from the Leander analogy you had. In fact Sindhu hasn't been the best in team events either, many a time skipping them and badminton probably has more high level team events than tennis with the Thomas/ Uber/ Sudirman Cup, Asian team Championship, Commonwealth Team Championship and so on.
Also check her records against some good players like Marin, Tai and Ratchanok. She has been losing regularly the moment she runs into one of them.
Having said all this I still have immense respect for her and really admire her achievements. It is just that ye dil mange more.

[Omkara]

[

So, why does Sindhu not turn it on day in and day out? Maybe it is too exhausting/stressful for her mind and body and she has accepted that this is the level she can play all year round and then peak to give that extra push in the big tournaments?

Otherwise, they will burnout. All this is of course pontification.

Beleive that's the fact. I have seen her play sf or f after a tight long match. She had little in her tank. While she is very fit, she can at best play one long match in a tournament. If it's final she puts a great fight else she has little to fight back.

[prasen9]

Sindhu has been winning 40% and losing 60% against Marin. That is not really losing regularly. Generally agree with what you said Rajit. And, also agree with Sameer and Omkara/Sumanta. The comparison to Lee was similar in the way that they can edge their bodies and minds to go long and play extremely well for a few matches in say 3 months or so. The drug was different. Lee got possessed when the Indian flag was involved. Sindhu gets possessed for the big tournaments, i.e., the ones where there is more glamour involved. Human beings are not really fully logical. We have had tournaments where in the leagues some team have dominated and then in one or two matches, i.e., the semis and finals some team comes in and wins at a fluke. People value the knock-outs, which arguably are easier than the leagues. So, yes, these badminton tournaments are harder to win and Sindhu cannot perhaps play so many matches at a extremely high level. However, since society seems to value the Olympic medals and WC medals and it is perhaps also easier to remember, big players also put a lot of emphasis on them. I won't remember who won the Malaysian Open in such and such a year but we remember the Marin gold and the Sindhu silver for some time and I do not really have to tell you what these were.

Maybe a mod (read Sameer) can consider moving these to the Sindhu thread so that we can refer to it in the future when we argue and not lose it in the MO thread (without meaning to demean the MO Rajit ).

[sameerph]

So, yes, these badminton tournaments are harder to win and Sindhu cannot perhaps play so many matches at a extremely high level. However, since society seems to value the Olympic medals and WC medals and it is perhaps also easier to remember, big players also put a lot of emphasis on them. I won't remember who won the Malaysian Open in such and such a year but we remember the Marin gold and the Sindhu silver for some time and I do not really have to tell you what these were.

I was about to write that as a response to Rajit's post above but you have out exactly what I wanted to say. It is true in most of the sports. Because they want the field to be representative of entire world there are continent related or other quota places at olympics and field is much easier than these super series tournaments. Same is true in shooting too where world cups and world championships have much tougher fields than olympics because there is no restriction. But, because people value olympic medals more than these tournaments, the mental pressure in olympics is way higher than these tournaments. It is even more so in India where olympics medals are very rare.

So, I have no complaints against someone who had delivered 2 olympic medals for us coming thru this pressure situation.

[sameerph]

Finally Sindhu has reached her first final in a while reaching final of Madrid Spain Masters justifies her second seeding.

Today in SF she beat 33rd ranked Jin Min Yeo of Singapore 24-22 22-20. Sindhu was down 15-20 in first game only to come back and win that game.

Hope that means Sindhu is slowly getting back to form. 11th ranked Sindhu will 12th ranked Indonesian Gregoria Tanjung in the final. It cannot get closer than that in terms of rankings.

[Atithee]

Is the field depleted? Chinese not participating? Marin, etc.?

[sameerph]

Is the field depleted? Chinese not participating? Marin, etc.?

Yes, no Chinese there. This being a super 300 tournament they all went back it seems. Marin was the top seed but lost to Indonesian Tanjung in the SF. So, that is not going to be a tough match for Sindhu in final against an in-form Indonesian.

[arjun2761]

Sindhu was the 2nd seed, so making final is par for the course.

[sameerph]

Sindhu got thrashed 8-21 8-21 though in the final against Tanjung. Tanjung is playing best badminton of her career but still Sindhu still way below her best.

[Saffron Lenin]

PV Sindhu's disappointing run continues as the shuttler has now slipped three places to 15th in the latest BWF World rankings published on Tuesday.

https://www.republicworld.com/sports-ne ... eshow.html

[suresh]

Sindhu on Facebook

HERE WE GO!!

In typical Fabrizio style, I am thrilled to announce Hafiz Hashim as my new coach!!

After a long, drawn-out process, I am ecstatic to declare that I have chosen the incredible Hafiz Hashim as my coach. Hafiz possesses all the traits I was seeking in a coach, including the height, speed, and an attacking instinct. As a former all England champion in 2003, he sure has the pedigree as well. Having coach Sidek as his old coach, just add this aura to him.

I extend a warm welcome aboard, Coach Hashim. Buckle up folks, it’s going to be a hell of journey with captain Hafiz at the helm!!

Hope we an uptick in her performance soon.

[srini]

Sindhu on Facebook

HERE WE GO!!

In typical Fabrizio style, I am thrilled to announce Hafiz Hashim as my new coach!!

After a long, drawn-out process, I am ecstatic to declare that I have chosen the incredible Hafiz Hashim as my coach. Hafiz possesses all the traits I was seeking in a coach, including the height, speed, and an attacking instinct. As a former all England champion in 2003, he sure has the pedigree as well. Having coach Sidek as his old coach, just add this aura to him.

I extend a warm welcome aboard, Coach Hashim. Buckle up folks, it’s going to be a hell of journey with captain Hafiz at the helm!!

Hope we an uptick in her performance soon.

She has been training at Suchitra academy hyderabad, an academy that operates within the premises of an International school in line with what most international schools here are doing. Haifz Hashim from Malaysia was hired by this academy in Feb'23 , so an obvious choice by Sindhu to continue him as her personal coach also.

[Omkara]

Post split with Gopi, both Saina's career went down. Maybe it coincided with her age. Same with Sindhu. Sindhu did well under the Korean coach. But I have read Indian players have big egos. So gelling with the coach is critical