New Delhi: India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand termed PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal – his two most successful pupils – as ‘precious diamonds’.
“As a coach I treat both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu as precious diamonds. Winning or losing happens every day at the Academy in Hyderabad. Win or defeat in game encourages the winner and loser to raise the bar and reach higher standards,” said Gopichand here Saturday at a felicitation programme organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the women business wing of the Federation of Indian chambers of Commerce & Industry.
The taskmaster added: “During competitions or upcoming matches I take away players’ including Saina’s and Sindhu’s mobile phones and raid their rooms to check laptops and refrigerators to prevent them from stocking chocolates. One has to be strict with them. My dream is my students winning gold in the Olympics.”
While Saina (2012) is an Olympic bronze medallist, Sindhu won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Meanwhile Saina who holds a 3-1 head-to-head record against Sindhu, did not attribute her success rate to any special reason. “I just take her as any other opponent,” Saina told reporters. “There are some players against whom I am comfortable while playing. May be that’s the case with Sindhu,” she added.
Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei has been Saina’s nemesis in the recent past winning the last seven encounters between the two. “She is a very tricky player, very deceptive and so she is difficult to beat,” Saina pointed out.
Meanwhile Sindhu did not buy the theory of ‘choking’ in the finals of big tournaments. “I think reaching the final of any tournament is in itself a big feat and that should be lauded,” asserted the shuttler.
press trust of india