'I tried to be positive, keep myself calm and do yoga,' - PV Sindhu after opening win at Paris Olympics 2024

HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu also talked about their first match at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Indian badminton stars PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy kicked off their Paris Olympics 2024 journey with impressive victories on Sunday at the La Chapelle Arena. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, breezed past the Maldives’ Fathimath Razzaq with a score of 21-9, 21-6. The match was over in just 29 minutes, showing Sindhu’s dominance on the court.

After the match, Sindhu shared her thoughts, saying, “It was a good start, I am happy. I was able to get used to the court and the atmosphere. It has been a long time, coming back after three years, it’s a special one. 2016 (Olympics) was different and 2020 (2021) was completely different. It is a sort of mixture of both.”

Sindhu mentioned that she’s been working with legendary former player Prakash Padukone for the past six months. She said, “I have been with Prakash sir for more than six months now and it’s going on well. Everything is coming together. We have to know each other well to work together.”

The Indian shuttler also talked about the importance of mental strength at big tournaments like the Olympics. “It is important to be mentally strong. You at times don’t know what is happening, everything gone from you. We worked on the mental things also. I tried to be positive, keep myself calm and do yoga,” Sindhu explained.

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In the men’s singles, HS Prannoy made his Olympic debut against Germany’s Fabian Roth. Despite a shaky start, Prannoy won the match 21-18, 21-12, in 45 minutes.

He admitted to feeling nervous at first. “When you’re on the winning side of it, I think it feels great. Yes, it started off a little patchy. I think the atmosphere is electric out there. So, to kind of suddenly get into that tournament mode is not easy,” he said after the match.

The Indian shuttler changed his strategy during the match, which helped him win. He explained, “A little bit more of longer rallies towards the end of the first game made things a little bit easier for me, I would say, from the fact that I was finding the length from that side. So yes, that gave a lot of confidence.”

Prannoy added, “I knew that the second game I should be in control because I think a lot of nerves went off after that first game and I could feel that relaxed space, especially in the second game.”

Both Sindhu and Prannoy will play their next matches on Wednesday. Sindhu will face Estonia’s Kristin Kuuba, while Prannoy will take on Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat.

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