Sunday, August 28, 2016

P.V.Sindhu - Amazing Grace

In the first game I saw of hers at Rio I was amazed at her fitness. Sindhu looked sharp as an arrow and had that spring, that coil in the step that separated her from almost everybody in the Olympic badminton court. After watching the first game I knew she was way more prepared than most physically, skill wise and mentally. As she won game after game, it was even more obvious that this was no fluke - this was deliberate and cold blooded planning and preparation that was paying off. She trained well beyond what the top players do in every way - including tactically and strategically.

Sindhu was just better prepared - a result of all the sacrifices she and her coach, her support staff and family put in over the years. And in that one week that mattered, when India was struggling to save face on the medals tally, she just expressed herself and gave us something to hope for. She completely surrendered to her coach, frequently looking for an idea, an inspiration. And without doubt she gave it her all. She checked every box she could and it required someone of Marin's expertise and experience to go past her - barely. Sindhu gave it her all and that was so obvious. Fantastic effort, approach and great mindset.

It was the small things that I guess I will remember her for. Her amazing grace as he handled the press, the pressure, the felicitations, the constant demands on her time. Her smile, her exuberance, her enthusiasm, her transparent clear being, her patience, her humility. And she is 21.

This grace I suppose comes out of being so clear and free of doubt, of resentment, of complaints, of all the negative things that we have heard from celebrities - crib, crib, crib etc. She enjoys herself. She celebrates the moment, life. Fantastic.

Sindhu will win and achieve what she deserves in the future but with such a lovely attitude to life and to her work, she is already a winner. It is also an attitude that so many of today's younger generation - the brat pack - can imbibe. Attitude is one thing, rudeness another. Sindhu's attitude always kept the game and the opponent above her. Even after that disappointing end to the final after giving it her all, she did not behave badly despite having every reason to. She walked up to Marin showing no ego at all, congratulated her and helped her to her feet, even took her racket out of the way while stepping off the court. She worked hard with a discipline that is unbelievable. Coach Gopichand said that never once in all these 12 or more years did she come late for a session - starting at 3 in the morning to get there by 4. More importantly, her complete surrender to the coach.

So many of the right things to imbibe, if one wants to. But for now amazing work Sindhu. And an amazing smile that says it all. 

1 comment:

Vidyuth Jaisimha said...

Sindhu is a phenomenal talent. She would have beaten Marin easily but for her lack of experience which Marin exploited. She slowed the game down and kept irritating Sindhu by repetedly changing the shuttle. This made Sindhu lose her composure and she kept running to the referee to interfere which wasn't happening. This experience Will never allow her to make that mistake again. Hats off to her. Am sure she is going to be world number one very soon.