Tokyo Olympics badminton: PV Sindhu prepares for Ksenia Polikarpova clash in empty stadium

PV Sindhu was beaten to the gold in 2016 Rio Olympics by Spain’s Carolina Marin, who withdrew from the Tokyo Games in June after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Tokyo’s Musashino Forest Sport Plaza is a familiar venue for India’s PV Sindhu – it’s where she made it to the quarterfinals of the 2019 Japan Open, dancing to the deafening cheers and chants of spectators. But on Sunday, when the reigning women’s singles world champion plays Israel’s Ksenia Polikarpova, most of the seats at the stadium that can hold 7,200 people will be empty. “I’m going to miss the spectators, the crowd. The way the crowd motivates the players is fantastic,” Sindhu told media late on Thursday (July 22) after training at Musashino. “But I’m getting used to it because I’ve played a couple of tournaments now without crowd ... I miss them, but we have to get used to these situations now,” the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist said. Sindhu was beaten to the gold in Rio by Spain’s Carolina Marin, who withdrew from the Tokyo Games in June after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). “Definitely, I’ll miss her and that rivalry on court, but I think that even though she’s not there it’s still not going to be easy,” Sindhu said.