There will be a lot of pressure on PV Sindhu at the Tokyo Olympics: Jwala Gutta

The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu will be once again heading the Indian contingent at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Sindhu is one of the favourites to bag a medal at the big stage especially in the absence of London Olympics Bronze medallist Saina Nehwal. The experienced shuttler along with Kidambi Srikanth has failed to qualify for the Summer Games.

Therefore Sindhu will have to carry the expectations of the entire country at the big stage. So former Indian shuttler Jwala Gutta also feels that there will be a lot of pressure on the former World Champion. “I hope that she gets a medal. There is definitely going to be more pressure than last time on Sindhu,” Jwala said during a discussion on Indian badminton.

Jwala feels that in Rio the situation was different but in Tokyo, all the focus will be on Sindhu and hence she will have more pressure than ever to deliver. “In Rio, the circumstances were completely different for Sindhu, now the situation has completely changed, the focus is more on her and it depends on her how she takes this pressure.

“I hope she takes it positively. Rio wasn’t easy but Tokyo definitely won’t be easy. Everybody knows her game, everybody watched her,” she added.

The former Doubles shuttler also pointed out how the lack of tournaments due to COVID-19 can be a big disadvantage for the Indian shuttlers. She highlighted how sparring with someone helps in self-assessment. She then also considered how Sindhu went through confusion between coaches.

“Even before the second wave, the situation wasn’t favourable for Indians, while in Europe few tournaments happened. The problem with the Indian system is that Sindhu is one of a kind.

“When she is sparring with somebody, it is not of the same level, while the Chinese, Koreans are a team of 20-30 players. Whether it is Tai Tzu Ying or the Chinese, I am definitely sure they are working really hard. Koreans are also playing well. Thai girls are playing well. The Japanese too.

“Sindhu was going through a personal thing with the confusion of coaches, so there has been no consistency in the way things should be before the Olympics.

“Our players didn’t get enough match practice also because Indians were blacklisted from travelling due to COVID, that is the biggest disadvantage for Indians.”

Lastly, Jwala feels that Sindhu must go through her past videos and make amends to his playing style. She feels that it will help her to work on her strategy ahead of the big event.

“Every tournament, the strategy keeps changing and I hope she is sitting back and watching her matches with big players against whom she has won and lost. If I were Sindhu I would work on my strategy and mind-strength because in the top-20, everybody is at the same level physically,” Jwala concluded.