Tokyo Olympics: COVID-19 didn’t affect my training, says world champ PV Sindhu

The world No. 7 PV Sindhu is the lone Indian to have qualified for the women’s singles in Tokyo Olympics and finds herself in an easy group J with lower-ranked Polikarpova Ksenia of Israel and Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi.

Badminton world champion PV Sindhu says that the forced break during the COVID-19 pandemic has actually made her a better player because it gave her ample time to work on her technique and skills. The Rio 2016 silver medalist’s Olympic preparations last year hit a roadblock as the pandemic brought all the sporting action to a standstill but Sindhu said it was like a blessing in disguise for her. “I think the (break during) pandemic was very useful because I got to learn more and focus more on my technique and skills so I would say definitely it has (helped),” the Indian shuttler said in a virtual interaction. “It did not impact my preparation much for the Olympics because I think I’ve got enough time. Generally it’s more like when you go for a tournament come back and train. Most of the time, we don't have enough time to train. So I think this was the first time that we've got enough time to actually train and get ready for the Olympics.