Anup Sridhar watched around 25-30 hours of footage of the match from when PV Sindhu “played very well.” Their training partnership, along with Korean beauty Lee Hyun-il, has been put on trial for 3 months now. But Anup was determined to learn every little detail about what had clicked for Sindhu.
The smallest points of that offensive game – about 2014-2019, the mucus of that cruel intention, were seen on Thursday at the Denmark Open, when the 29-year-old returned to normal, which means that in Sindhu-Universe it means to take action, too. taking Chinese in its latest form. An 18-21, 21-12, 21-16 semi-final win over World No.7 Han Yue, who won the Arctic Open in Finland last week, saw Sindhu give plenty of evidence of an attacking game – she was taking the shuttle up the net as possible.
And unleashing a lot of physical attacks on the Chinese fourth seed from there. It is usually an indication of happy times.
“It’s just the Round of 16, and in my opinion we still have a long way to go before we see the old Sindhu. In fact, there are still 3-4 months to set goals, even though there are major titles that he has never won. We still have a simple task to learn before we can put points,” said Anup after winning in 63 minutes.
When Anup flew in and flew out the same day from Hyderabad to discuss a possible coaching position back in September, he had some doubts. Like the rest of India. “When I met her team in Hyderabad, I had a conversation where Sindhu was polite, polite and genuinely nice. But I had to ask,” he remembers. “I said, ‘Please don’t feel bad, but honestly, how hungry are you to keep going?'”
For someone so successful, his motivation levels should be a national curiosity at this stage – three Olympics, two medals, the start of a new cycle, nothing left to prove – almost.
“But in the lessons I saw, he was on time, focused 100 percent, and never complained about being tired. His answer is always, ‘No bhaiyya, I am not tired, today I will push myself and train.’ Each time. The youth of India can really learn a lot from his commitment, even though he has achieved a lot.”
Back in Odense, where she made her first major Tour final in 2015, losing to then-top seed Xuerui Li, Sindhu ran into Han Yue, the current third-ranked Chinese, but fourth here. Sindhu came back from 14-20, but she kept hitting her best in peace, until she got things back to 18-20, before conceding the opener.
But everything had been considered. “It was part of the strategy because the First Court had a lot of movement, there is a tight margin to control the shuttle from the fast side. We had discussed that if he wins the toss, he will choose this fast route, so that he finishes on the slow and easy side,” explained Anup.
Planning went. Sindhu leveled the sets in the second. But his eternal nemesis in the last few years has been the decisive factor against the top players, especially when his lead is stolen. Sindhu took a 6-3 lead on the strong side, only to fall 7-11. That was almost 1-8 at that stage when Han Yue blocked Sindhu’s deep smash. These episodes spell disaster so often, it’s hard to remember the last time India beat a Top 10 player after coming out on top and falling to the bottom.
Keeping him cool
But Anup says Sindhu is prepared. “All credit to him. Just after the change in atom, Sindhu made it 11-11 which was the difference between victory and defeat. He kept his head, even after losing a 6-3 lead which can be very frustrating if you just can’t control the shuttle. He left there,” he recalled.
Han had dished out quick errors, but from 11-11, Sindhu continued to harass from the slow, easy side. Even when it was 16-16, Sindhu’s coaching bench was confident that she had hit the nail on the head.
One thing Anup was sure of was that attack was the only way to go, for Sindhu. “There is no other way he can win. It’s a test he can’t pass. But we still have to find out when we can back off from attacking everything, because it’s a very physical style of play,” he explained. “There are still a few things you should learn before he attacks again.”
But for a coach who swears by the motto, ‘attitude breeds excellence’, Sindhu’s high-profile outburst on Thursday was a good start. “My job is to make him play in a way that hits the net. Anger always works for him.”
At Sindhu’s home in Hyderabad, Anup had visited her trophy room. “When you actually see it, you think, man, this was a good job. But you see him working hard all the time many times, and it continues even as a coach,” said the former Olympian who insists that there will be many discussions about tactics and strategies before preparing for competitions. Because there are plenty of scores to contend with for the Indian World No.18’s big names, and one or two clear titles to be won.