Shuttler PV Sindhu's 'I retire' post had got the world champion's fans worried. But now putting an end to all those speculations, Sindhu said she is totally fit to rule the court and claimed to be in her best form, not just health-wise but also on the badminton court. She further noted that she is looking forward to competing in the upcoming tournaments such as the Asia Cup and of course the Tokyo Olympics, IANS reported.
On being asked how she coped with the extended lockdown, the Olympic silver medallist said, "It was quite difficult to suddenly stop a very active routine. But at the same time we all realised how important it was to pause everything and take care of ourselves," TOI reported.
PV Sindhu revealed that she tried to keep herself "active by working out at home" and that really helped her. Emphasising upon health and fitness in this lockdown, she claimed to have spent "a lot of time with my family and picked up some hobbies like painting."
"I was not able to play on court, hence it was a bit hard when I started playing. But I think I am now fit on court as well and ready to go."
Tokyo Olympics dream
Earlier, in a video made by the athlete, Sindhu showed viewers that even daily household items like carpets, bottles and stairs can be used as equipment for exercising at home. But if she wants a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which has been postponed to 2021, the preparations should be much bigger and larger. "With everything that has been happening around the world, it was quite evident that Tokyo Games were going to be postponed and I had already started to prepare mentally," she expressed.
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The ace shuttler further said that the break was unexpected but her quest for the elusive Olympic gold was still on track. "I have been preparing myself mentally and physically to compete in 2021. We are not too far away and this is a worldwide scenario, hence every athlete is going through the same and we will all have to adapt, train, and give our best in Tokyo," Sindhu said.
'I Retire'
On Monday, Sindhu tweeted an "I Retire" and social media couldn't help but try to decipher her message. Later, it was revealed that she was not retiring from the game but from the "fear" and "negativity" surrounding the coronavirus. "Initially when it was just a couple of months and the Olympics was postponed, I felt a bit sad. But then I felt life comes first and that we have to see our safety. I just thought I will work hard for a year and let's see. After that everything got cancelled and in one way, everybody felt sad about missing tournaments. But at the same time, it is also a different feeling not playing for months and we got to learn new things and start knowing our mistakes and work on them. So that is also an advantage," she wrote.
The badminton star, who scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a World Championships gold medal last year, had pulled out of Denmark Open in September. The 24-year-old has recently laid the foundation of her own badminton academy in Chennai but on the work front, it has been quite disappointing lately. She had agreed to play in the Uber Cup, which was eventually postponed. Now, the next tournament in which she would be competing is the Asian leg of the BWF World Tour.
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"I am really looking forward to the tournaments in Asia. I will be back on the court after a long time. The training has been going well and this break has also helped me learn and improve as an athlete. I am taking a lot of positive out of this break and using this time to work on things I have not had the time for due to the hectic schedule," Sindhu said.
Feature Image Credit: PV Sindhu/Twitter
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