Sindhu will only get better with time: Mahajan

“It was heartening to see Sindhu getting the better of the Chinese in the quarter-finals of the China Masters. Sindhu played superbly and what made the win special was that she did not lose her nerve against the Chinese. In the absence of Saina Nehwal,Sindhu made sure that Indian shuttlers did well against the Chinese and this win will boost her confidence a lot. The fact that the Chinese was seeded second meant that Li had a better draw. Sindhu should take the confidence ahead in the event,” shared Mahajan,who has trained Sindhu in the junior as well youth Indian badminton teams.

The city-based coach first met Sindhu in a junior camp five years ago and was the chief coach of the Indian junior team for the Junior Commonwealth Youth Games held in Isle of Man,Great Britain,last year,an event in which Sindhu won the singles’ gold medal.

Sindhu had attended a national camp at Lucknow prior to the event under Mahajan. The coach is quick to point out that the shuttler’s main strength is her reach and smashes.

“She displayed a lot of composure in her title win in the CWG Youth Championship last year. She won the title and displayed an array of shots. Her main strength has been her reach at the nets and smashes over the head. With time,she will only get better. One of the main things which she needs to do is to match her fitness as she grows up. That will be the key to her success. She comes from a sport background as her father was the former captain of the Indian volleyball team. That has helped her a lot,” believes Mahajan.

After the China Masters,Sindhu will spearhead the Indian attack in the World Junior Badminton Championships to be held in Japan in October later this year. Mahajan is expected to train the Indian junior team and he predicts Sindhu repeating the CWG Youth performance at Japan.

“The World Junior Championship will see her compete against world’s best junior shuttlers and winning the title in Japan will be a good thing for her. She has already made a fine beginning in the senior circuit and she loves to play in the junior circuit as well,” said Mahajan.