PV Sindhu hopes to continue her form in the upcoming events, including the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, after winning the Singapore Open Super 500 here on Sunday. Sindhu managed to stay strong in the key moments to prevail 21-9, 11-21, 21-15 over 22-year-old Wang Zhi Yi, the reigning Asian Championships gold medallist, in the summit clash to claim her third title of the season. The world No. 7 had ended a 29-month barren run in January by winning the Syed Modi India International and followed it up with the Swiss Open crown in March.
“I am very happy. After a long time coming here to Singapore and winning this means a lot to me. I have finally crossed that level, I have got the win now and I hope the same tempo continues for the rest of the tournaments and I do well in the upcoming event,” she said after the match. Living out of a suitcase is the norm for international athletes and the 27-year-old Sindhu admitted there is no time to celebrate as she shifts focus to the Commonwealth Games starting on July 28. “I just have a week and again we leave for the Commonwealth Games. Maybe I can take a day off, and spend time with my family,” she said. “It has been a long tour for me, there was Indonesia, Malaysia for two weeks, and now Singapore. So it is time to go back home and just relax for a bit and then get back to training. But definitely, I am going to enjoy this win, it means a lot.”
Asked if the Singapore Open title augurs well ahead of the Commonwealth Games and World Championships, Sindhu said: “Yes it is. I wanted to be more successful (laughs). Right now it is time to just go and relax and then focus on the Commonwealth Games and hope I get a medal there. “Followed by that, we have the world championships and Japan Open. I have to be physically and mentally fit. My strength and conditioning coach Srikanth is there with me, so it should be okay.”
Sindhu, who already has a silver and a bronze apart from the team gold from the Commonwealth Games, will be favourite to win the gold this time. Talking about the Birmingham Games, Sindhu said: “I hope I can give my best, it is not going to be easy. There are some good players. So hoping for as many medals as we can.”
“It was a good match. After winning the first game, I gave away points from the beginning in the second, so it was really difficult to catch up. But in the third game, it was 9-11 and it was a crucial phase, where I had to maintain the lead,” she said.
In a mistake-filled title clash, Sindhu managed to stay strong in the key moments. She came into the match with a 1-0 lead over Wang, having beaten the Chinese player in their only meeting at the All England Championships this year. Toss played a major role in the match with drift in the hall making life difficult for the shuttlers. However, Sindhu managed to limit the errors and keep her nerves to emerge victorious in the end.
