Hyderabad: As PV Sindhu became first Indian shuttler to win World Championships gold wishes poured in thick and fast from Indian sports fraternity. Sindhu defeated her Japanese opponent Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in a lopsided final on Sunday to win the gold medal.
In Basel, home of Tennis legend Roger Federer, Sindhu was at her destructive best as her devastating jump smashes left Okuhara all but broken in a blitzkrieg that lasted no longer than 37 minutes.
After clinching the much-awaited gold at the Worlds Sindhu said, “I kept waiting for this. I lost last year (to Carolina Marin) and the year before last. Finally, I made it."
Now the question is what next for Sindhu?
Though Sindhu won her first gold medal at the prestigious BWF World Championships in three attempts, Olympic gold in badminton still eludes her. In 2016 Rio Olympics, she lost to Spain's Carolina Marin in the final and had to settle for silver.
With the Worlds gold in her trophy cabinet former All England Badminton champion Prakash Padukone said that she should focus on Olympic gold now.
Padukone, who is the first Indian to win a medal at the Worlds in 1983, heaped praise on the Hyderabadi.
"Sindhu’s triumph over Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara at the World Championship final shows she in superb form. She was far more convincing than what the scoreline suggests. Her tactics were so well charted out that Okuhara stood no chance against her. Okuhara relishes long rallies," Padukone said.
"The world title had eluded her in the past two years where she reached the final but was not able to cross the line. Sindhu was aggressive and positive today. She negated the tendency very well. It was so unlike the close finals that Sindhu had played in the past," he opined.
The former shuttler also urged Sindhu to concentrate on two prestigious events from here on. "My suggestion would be focus on winning two big events next year All England and the Olympics -- and work backwards. All her efforts and planning ought to be to peak in these two events," Padukone said.
The 64-year-old also urged Sindhu to prepare her roadmap in the buildup to the All England Badminton Championships and Tokyo Olympics which are scheduled to take place in 2020.
"In between, even if she has to skip a few tournaments or happens to bow out early in others, she needn’t be worried. Qualifying for the Olympics is not an issue. Peaking is. That ought to be her prime target now," he said.
"If it is not possible to peak in both, she must concentrate on the Olympics alone," Padukone signed off.
