Olympics: How PV Sindhu Got Ready For Tokyo Games, Muscle By Muscle

Tokyo 2020: As PV Sindhu reached the semi-finals of badminton women's singles on Friday, her trainer Srikanth Varma revealed the high-intensity fitness regime she maintained for the Games.

Srikanth Varma was glued to the television set, watching every move that PV Sindhu made against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan on the court at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo. As her trainer since June 2017, Varma has been a crucial cog in the 'Project Tokyo' wheel, to prepare Sindhu for the big moment. Soon after her quarter-final victory at the Tokyo Olympics, Varma was on the phone with Sindhu, advising her on the recovery process she needed to follow ahead of the semi-final clash on Saturday. The importance of this aspect for the India champion player cannot be overestimated because of the nature of the match against Yamaguchi. It was marked by several long and highly intense rallies, including a 54-shot one. "I had customised a high performance fitness programme specifically for Sindhu. It was designed according to her game, her body type, her strength levels. If any other athlete follows it, chances of injury are high," said Srikanth Varma, who is the Head Strength and Conditioning coach at the Suchitra Badminton Academy in Secunderabad. What did this rigorous training schedule entail?