PV Sindhu may not have a good head-to-head record with Tai Tzu Ying but the Rio Olympics silver medallist says the Taiwanese shuttler is not unbeatable.

Though she defeated Tai Tzu in the semi-finals of the World Badminton Championships en route to winning the title last August, the Indian’s overall record of 12 losses against five wins against the current world No. 1 tell us that Sindhu doesn’t really enjoy the upper hand in this rivalry.

“Yes, she is a very skilful player, but it’s not that she is invincible. She is beatable. It’s just that whoever plays better on a particular day will leave the court as a winner. That’s what I feel. I also think in women’s badminton, the top-15 players are of the same standard. So it’s just that you have to keep on giving your 100 per cent. Sometimes you may commit unforced errors, sometimes it may happen that it’s just not your day. But there will also be times when you would just play brilliantly. In the end, it all boils down to that particular day,” the world No. 7 told The Telegraph from Hyderabad on Saturday.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the badminton world body, BWF, decided to freeze the rankings on March 31. The rankings were backdated to March 17. That was the day after the last international tournament, the All England Open. These rankings will be the basis for entry and seeding into the next international tournaments, whenever they are played.

“It’s a good decision that the BWF has decided to freeze the rankings. But you know, the tough decision would be when they would like to restart and when they decide to unfreeze the rankings. That is something they have to really think hard about. Ultimately it would be their decision how to go about it and I am sure they would do everything accordingly,” Sindhu said.

In a perfect world, Sindhu would have been playing a tournament at this point in time, but thanks to the pandemic, she is now under lockdown. She is looking at the positives of staying at home though.

“I am training at home and my dad (former volleyball player PV Ramana) is there to guide me. My trainer also has given me some drills. Since there’s a lockdown for 21 days, it’s all about staying fit at home. I am spending time with my family and getting to learn new things. Non-stop badminton and travelling had deprived me of spending time at home. Now it’s a nice feeling to be with the family.”

Sindhu though is finding it weird that she is not playing badminton despite being injury-free. “It’s the first time in a long time that I am at home and not travelling and not playing the game I love most. But you can’t do anything about it, can you? We all have to stay home and stay safe. It’s feels a bit different that I am not playing. But the positive thing is, as I said earlier, I am able to spend quality time with the family.”

Unlike football or cricket, badminton is an indoor game and there is a perception that sportspersons who play indoor games have an advantage in coping with such a lockdown phase.

Sindhu refused to buy that argument. “Well, every sport is different. It’s not about indoor or outdoor. Every game needs endurance as well skill. So definitely it depends on how many days of rest we take, how many days of exercises we do and what type of exercises we do during this period. Also, whether we are strong mentally and physically. It depends on each individual. It’s not that badminton being an indoor game it’s easier to cope with the lockdown phase. It’s much tougher, but at the same time it depends on each individual,” she said.

The new dates for the Olympics have been announced and the 24-year-old thinks it was a good decision to postpone the Games by a year.

“This virus is getting from bad to worse. I was thinking that it would get postponed but at the same time was preparing for the Games. It was a good decision to postpone the Olympics. When I got to know about it, I was fine with it. Life comes first, doesn’t it? And definitely we would get prepared for 2021 as well.

“We have already prepared for four years and now it’s a matter of one more year,” she said.

Sindhu, however, said expectations do not get doubled with the Olympics now starting from July 23, 2021. “Well, it’s nothing like expectations would multiply. It’s just that we have to work hard. Everybody would be giving 100 per cent. It’s just that on that particular day who plays well and gives the best,” the ace shuttler said.