By Richa Naidu
PARIS (Reuters) -China’s Chen Yufei and India’s PV Sindhu are under tremendous pressure to perform, like all Olympians – but they are learning how to deal with the toll the badminton contest takes on their minds as well as their bodies.
Sindhu knew she needed to be 100% in Paris, physically, mentally and tactically. In the women’s singles, she will face tough competition from the likes of Tokyo gold medallist Chen and world number one An Se Young of South Korea.
“It’s important to be mentally strong when you’re really at your lows, or you don’t know what’s happening, or you get really upset with the way you’re playing, and when you start losing matches – you think nothing is working out,” Sindhu said on Sunday.
Sindhu has made a lot of changes to her life since she won a bronze medal in Tokyo and silver in Rio. She has moved to Bangalore from Hyderabad, India, started working with new coach Agus Dwi Santoso of Indonesia, and has acquired a mentor, Indian badminton great Prakash Padukone.
“My team speaks to me in a positive way – makes me understand it’s okay to be low at times,” she added. “We are humans and it might not be your day, but it is important to bounce back and take it slowly day by day.”
“I’m sure everybody has these days, where you at times don’t know what’s happening and you feel that everything is gone from you,” she said, adding that she works on her mental health and tries to stay positive through yoga and meditation.
Sindhu made quick work of Fathimath Abdul Razzaq of the Maldives on Sunday, winning a group match 21-9 21-6 in under half an hour.
Later, reigning Olympic champion Chen beat Germany’s Yvonne Li 21-14 17-21 21-9, stumbling in the second game.
“This Olympics I just want to enjoy the journey … in Tokyo there wasn’t an audience so, for me, this feels like a real Olympics,” Chen said after the match.
“There are many young people in this sport who need to learn to be happy. From what I eat, to what I wear, to how I feel about the weather, I do everything I can to take care of myself.”
(Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Ed Osmond and Alison Williams)
