PV Sindhu owes it to her coach, former national champion and All England championship winner P. Gopichand for what she has been able to achieve. P.Gopichand has been instrumental in producing champs from his academy at Gachhibowli in Hyderabad and has played an instrumental role in shaping Sindhu.
“It is because of him I am here today. It is because of the way he has coached me since the age of 10. I am thankful to him. He has been supportive and motivating. He is there on court since morning until evening. He is very patient. There are so many players coming up. Outside the court, Gopi Sir is normal and friendly, but on court as a coach he has to be serious!” she says.
For a 21-year-old, winning a medal is always joyous but requires not just effort but also belief in oneself that one can do it.
“I always believed in myself and my coach (Gopi Sir) also believed in me. My coach also said,‘I don’t expect you to get a medal but I want you to give your best. This is your first Olympics and I don’t want any pressure on you. I really trained and worked hard and I focused on one match at a time and it went on from match to match.”
PV Sindhu talks about the sacrifices she had to make for the Olympic prep.
Naturally, an event like the Olympics required special preparations. Sindhu did not spare any effort in striving hard for this. A combined effort by a team of people under P. Gopichand’s leadership which included fitness trainers and others monitored Sindhu throughout the period where even proper diet and meditation were ensured!
“For two and a half to three months, we didn’t have any tournaments and our preparations went on really well. I didn’t have a phone, I had to get away from junk food and everything. That really helped me. We planned accordingly and strategy wise it all worked out. Gopi Sir also worked really hard for me and sacrificed a lot of things. So it paid off well. It has been a wonderful journey. Those three months were tough but if you want something, you have to sacrifice something in life. I have got a medal for the country. So I think I am really proud of it!”
Her mother watched over her diet at home which was a low-sugar, low-oil high-protein one.
“Sindhu likes biryani but is not allowed to eat because of its high oil content. She has been advised to take protein- eggs, chicken, milk, fruits and dry fruits besides coconut and peanut. Fried stuff is also restricted,” says her mother.