My target: come back with a gold, says flag-bearer PV Sindhu

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is yet to officially announce India’s flag-bearer at the Tokyo Olympics, which starts on July 23, but it is certain that shuttler P V Sindhu will be one of the two who will carry the tri-colour at the opening ceremony.

In fact, World champion P V Sindhu herself confirmed it during a Zoom interaction, conducted by the TedXYouth Suchitra Academy on Saturday (June 26). “Yes, it will be a great honour to be the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics. This is something which you don’t get that easily. It will be a proud moment in my career for sure. Thrilled to get this honour,” Sportstar quoted Sindhu as saying.

Sindhu had won a silver in women’s singles in the 2016 edition of Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro. She said that Tokyo event will be different but she is prepared to give her best.

“Expectations are always high and fans want me to return with a medal. I try to stay focussed on the game,” Sindhu said during the interaction, themed ‘Pause, Reset The Way You Think’.

“You have to be composed and stay away from any sort of distractions to realise your goal. And obviously, my target is to come back with a gold,” Sindhu added.

The 25-year-old acknowledged the fact that Tokyo Olympics is different and more challenging mainly because of COVID and accompanying restrictions.

India’s top badminton medal hopeful said that she has been training at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad under South Korean coach Park Tae Sang with support from Suchitra Academy.

“I am preparing in simulated match conditions and it (preparations) is going really well. I practice with different sparring partners which is helping me a lot,” Sindhu added.

She thanked Praveen Raju and Pradeep Raju of Suchitra Academy for their support and also the Telangana government and Sports Authority of India for helping her practice in Hyderabad.

Also read: Tokyo’s COVID restrictions for Indian athletes defeat the spirit of Olympics

Earlier at a virtual press meet organised by the Sports Authority of India, Sindhu said, “There is nothing like (added) pressure. In 2016, it was the first time, it was a different atmosphere. I didn’t know how it was going to be. But playing for the second time, I know how it’s going to be.”

She further said, “For me, I want to go out there and give my 100 percent. Obviously, there will be expectations, but I just have to give my best and focus on the job at hand,” she added.

Sindhu had a word of advice for the first-time Olympic medal hopefuls. “Do not get upset with cancellations of events. It would be a good idea to have inter-academy matches to get that feel and also make a critical assessment of one’s strengths and weaknesses and accordingly improve,” the champion shuttler said.

Sindhu is the only woman shuttler in the Indian squad for Tokyo. World Championships bronze medallist Sai Praneeth will represent India in men’s singles while the team of Sattiwksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will try to win a medal in men’s doubles events.

London Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal and former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth could not qualify for the Tokyo event.