CWG gold is another box waiting to be ticked by Sindhu

World No. 7 Pusarla Venkata Sindhu has hit the top gear at the right time. It was only a fortnight ago that she hit the top form by lifting her maiden Singapore Open title, her first Super 500 series title of the season.

After her victory, the 27-year-old wasted no time in announcing her main objective for the coming year. Her focus was primarily on winning a gold medal at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The Hyderabadi girl knew the importance of winning such a prestigious tournament in the run-up to CWG 2022.

And why not? A win against China’s Asian champion Wang Zhi Yi in a tough three-setter was important to lift her confidence. She is particularly determined to not just win the gold in women’s singles but also help India retain the gold in the mixed team event at the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018.

The Indian star shuttler travelled to Singapore to recover from a slump that included a lacklustre performance at the Uber Cup and other tour tournaments. With victories at the Syed Modi International and Swiss Open BWF Super 300 back in January and March, she enjoyed a strong start to the year.

Sindhu was a star even then at the age of 23 when she reached the Gold Coast in 2018. Having won the coveted silver at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, she was expected to be the flag-bearer then in the absence of top world players from China and Japan. But she failed to measure the threat from inside. Her senior partner and a long-time colleague at the badminton circuit Saina Nehwal emerged victorious over Sindhu to not just win the women’s singles gold but also take back the mantle of being India’s best player which Sindhu had overtaken in the last few months.

The loss cost Sindhu dear as she had to withdraw from the mixed team event’s final against CWG’s most successful team Malaysia due to an injury suffered during the singles. India had never before accomplished the feat of winning a mixed team event in the history of CWG as Malaysia and England dominated in the past.

But as it turned out to be, the mixed team event gold may have been the most significant of all the badminton medals that India took home from the 2018 Gold Coast. Sadly, for Sindhu, it came without her participation in the finals. Nehwal became the star with another superb show against Sonia Cheah in a three-setter.

Lost out in mind games

Sindhu’s loss to Nehwal was not because of any fault in her game. But it was her mental preparation for the epic clash that was questioned at the end of the tournament. Sindhu’s mother, P. Vijaya, kept advising her to stay calm and use her smashes sparingly.

But the No. 1 singles player from India kept attacking Nehwal at every given opportunity. Nehwal got back the mantle of being India’s best player. Sindhu fought back quickly after that to take that top place back with her hard work and consistent results over the next few months again.

More than that, it was the lesson of staying calm at the most crucial moments that Sindhu learned out of that clash.

And that paid rich dividends in the coming days and years as she went on to win the 2019 World Championships gold, and Tokyo Olympics 2020 (21) bronze, apart from many other Super Series events. This is another thing that Nehwal kept losing her world ranking because for one reason or the other.

Nehwal has also failed to be part of this Indian contingent in Birmingham due to her low world ranking.

On the other hand, Sindhu struck a plateau after winning the World Championship in 2019. She started losing too many upcoming girls, including Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei at major tournaments. This was also because the Indian top shuttler failed to match up with the new crop of rivals.

It was not that Sindhu didn’t taste victories, but it was those disappointing losses that left every badminton follower to worry about her future as a top world shuttler. While it is true that experience makes you wealthier, there is always a problem to solve. Under the guidance of her coach, South Korean Park Tae-Sang, and her support team, which includes coach Srikanth Varma and physiotherapist Evangeline, she started climbing back at a rapid pace to be the favourite here at the CWG.

Only the confidence and energy she gained from her third and biggest win of the season (the Singapore Open) could get her through the Birmingham stopover. World No. 7’s significant rivals (on paper) will be Canada’s world No. 13 Michelle Li, a past gold medallist, Scotland’s world No. 18 Kirsty Gilmour and Singapore’s world No. 19 Yeo Jia Min.

2014 bronze, 2018 silver… 2022 gold?

Top seed Sindhu, who previously competed in the CWG in 2014 (Glasgow) and 2018 and won the bronze and silver medals, will likely play former junior world champion from Malaysia, Goh Jin Wei, in the quarterfinals.

Sindhu looked in fine touch on Friday as India handed a crushing 5-0 defeat to Pakistan in the Mixed Team event. India won all five games in straight sets at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) as the opponents failed to win even a single set from any of the five matches, they played.

Sindhu defeated Pakistan’s top shuttler and world No. 175 Mahoor Shahzad in the women’s singles to make it 3-0 for India. The Indian star won 21-7, 21-6 in a one-sided contest.

With the World Championships around the corner, it will be interesting to see how much Sindhu is stretched by her opponents in the coming days. The winner of the two Olympic medals and a staggering five World Championship medals, Sindhu is desperate to add CWG gold to her kitty.

On her arrival in Birmingham, Sindhu had a major Covid scare after her RT-PCR test reportedly showed some deviation. She was immediately isolated from the other Indian contingent. It was only after another test that she was allowed to enter the CWG Village on Tuesday.