PV Sindhu: My mother gave up job, father took leave to take care of me

The 24-year-old shuttler won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics.

World champion PV Sindhu recalled her journey before winning the elusive silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She revealed that her parents made huge sacrifices to help their daughter achieve big heights in her career.

The Olympic silver-medallist was addressing the newly-appointed Assistant Directors of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) through an online session. She said that her mother gave up her job and her father took leave from work to take care of her before the Olympics.

"Before the Rio Olympics we shifted to the academy. My mother gave up her job to care of me. My father took two years leave from his job. The challenge was recovering from the injury I suffered in 2015,” recalled PV Sindhu.

“I used to sit and play in the academy. I had to play 23 tournaments in a year to even qualify for the Olympics. My father taking leave from his service really helped me. He used to take me to the Railways ground."

PV Sindhu stressed upon the need to recognize former Indian shuttlers and use them in a coaching capacity, as hiring foreign coaches would be tough due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She said, “If the global pandemic continues, bringing coaches from abroad might become difficult. There are a lot of good players in our country who have played at the international level and we can use them in a coaching capacity."

The Indian shuttler also said that young administrators are responsible for a better future of Indian sports and advised them to acknowledge every sportsperson.

Sindhu remarked, “The administrators must know the journey of every sportsperson. The future of Indian sports lies in the hands of young sports administrators like all of you. You must visit all the SAI regional centres and be aware of the performances of the players and be in touch with their parents."

"The parents' involvement is a lot and you need to take feedback from them. This feedback needs to be monitored. You must also understand how the SAI coaching system works and if athletes are receiving the right diet and supplements at the various centres."

She concluded by giving advice to young athletes regarding their studies. "While you don't need to go to school every day, you must not skip it altogether," signed off Sindhu.