Lack of High-Level Sparring Partners, Sindhu Requests Ranking Protection Due to Injury

Jayce September 6, 2024 9 0

India’s top badminton player, P.V. Sindhu, 28, has had a challenging year, culminating in her requesting ranking protection due to an injury. Indian media interviewed a veteran coach who highlighted her future challenges.

Sindhu experienced early exits in eight tournaments in 2023, with her best result being a runner-up finish at the Super 300 Madrid Masters. In November, she applied for world ranking protection due to a knee injury and is expected to return to the court by February next year at the earliest.

At the time of her ranking protection request, Sindhu was ranked 10th in the world, and she currently holds the 10th spot on the Paris Olympic qualification list. Indian media emphasized that this former world champion still aims to win an Olympic medal.

Sindhu has yet to win against An Se-young in six encounters, and she has only won five out of 24 matches against Tai Tzu-ying, suffering nine consecutive defeats recently. Her head-to-head record with Carolina Marín stands at 5-11. Despite reaching the quarterfinals in six of her last ten tournaments and the semifinals in three, Vimal Kumar, founder of the Bangalore badminton academy where Sindhu trains and a former national team standout, told The Indian Express, “Reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals in recent tournaments helps with ranking points, but the important thing is she needs to beat players like An Se-young, Marín, and Tai Tzu-ying to say that her training is making a real difference.”

Last month, Sindhu announced that she would train under the guidance of Indian legend Prakash Padukone at his Bangalore academy. Kumar, who co-founded the academy with Padukone, stated, “Honestly, she has been in a slump for a long time. She no longer shows joy on her face, nor does she seem to enjoy playing on the court. She should have stopped the decline earlier. The greatest advantage she has now is the experience of having beaten top players before.”

Kumar pointed out that in her recent efforts to strengthen her defense, Sindhu has begun to lose her original attacking edge. Training with Padukone is expected to bring changes to her offensive techniques and boost the confidence of the former world No. 2.

Kumar also hopes that Sindhu can find sparring partners from other countries, such as her good friend Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand. He believes that Viktor Axelsen’s practice of inviting other players for joint training is a method worth emulating. “There aren’t many women’s singles players here who can provide her with high-level practice, and training with male players is different and not as beneficial,” he added.