She may have lost eight finals since 2016 but ace shuttler P V Sindhu says she has no 'final phobia' and wants everyone to recognise the fact that she is the only Indian to have four podium finishes at the World Championships.
Sindhu had lost to Carolina Marin in the final of the World Championships in Nanjing, China, on Sunday, her second straight loss in the final of the world meet. Apart from these two silver medals, she also has two bronze medals from the Worlds.
Speaking to the media on her return from Nanjing, along with her coach Pullela Gopichand, Sindhu brushed aside concerns about her defeats in the finals.
“I have no final phobia or such fears. Everyone plays to win but sometimes we may not succeed. One must be strong and learn from mistakes. Who knows I might win the gold next year,” said the 23-year-old.
Sindhu said there were no issues with focus. “I never had any concentration issues. We have focused only on the World Championships and didn’t even attend a single programme. I think the silver medal I got is the result of focus,” she reasoned, rejecting a question on her losing concentration in the finals.
Talking about the Asian Games, she felt that there is not much left to prepare.
“It will be different as it has both team and individual events. As a team, we got the bronze last time. This time we expect a better one. In individual events, I will take this silver medal as an inspiration to do well,” a confident Sindhu said.
Sindhu's coach Gopi said that he was satisfied with the way the Indian players fared in the World Championships.
“Saina played well, doubles players Ashwini, Satviksairaj and Chirag Shetty all played well, the championships gave them the much-needed experience,” he said.
Gopi said training for both team and individual events will be different for the players. “It is volume versus intensity. But if we do well in the Asian Games then the year 2018 has been good to us,” he said.
