Q/ P.V. Sindhu trained in England late last year. What do you make of her performance and fitness?
A/ She was a bit rusty in the initial matches, but not all players will come back after 10 months without tournaments and straightaway win them. I am sure she will be back to her normal self in the coming months.
Q/ Will Sindhu training separately at the Gachibowli stadium affect other players?
A/ Sindhu is training with [Korean coach] Park [Tae Sang]. He is an able coach and I am happy with the training. Park has made her programme; they have sparring partners and players helping her. At the end of the day, we have only two courts operational at Gachibowli. As time goes by, we will have a few more players training there. This helps them acclimatise to various tournaments.
Q/ How was it to let go of a player you groomed for years?
A/ Thanks to support from the government, BAI (Badminton Association of India) and SAI (Sports Authority of India), players now have a support team and their needs are taken care of. Unlike in previous Olympics, the players today—whether it is Saina [Nehwal], Sindhu or [Kidambi] Srikanth—have their own setup. So, we are in a position where I can focus on the younger group, and that is what I have been doing.
Q/ How do you look at Sindhu’s evolution from a 21-year-old Olympic silver medallist to now?
A/ Going into (Rio) Olympics or the earlier World Championships, Sindhu was not one of the favourites. This time around, in Tokyo, she will definitely be one of the favourites. I am sure the experience of winning at big events will definitely help. Having said that, we still have challenges from many players and countries. It is the Olympics; it will be tough. She is prepared for it and has the ability. Hopefully, we will have a better medal than the one we had last time.
Q/ The Chinese have withdrawn from various tournaments. Heading into Tokyo, how dangerous a team are they?
A/ The Covid-19 scenario has been a bit unpredictable in the past few months. Of course, the Chinese not playing depletes the field. But I think these are still formidable competitions. We had a depleted field in Thailand as well. Many Indonesian, Japanese and Chinese players [dropped out of] these tournaments.
Overall, I feel like other sports, badminton, too, is trying to get back as quickly as possible. Yes, there are challenges, but it is good to go ahead and the players are also supporting these efforts.