Gambling capital of world where PV Sindhu took first steps on road to stardom

Two others came at Malaysia, and she had her two bronze medals at World Championships and another third place at the Asian Championships, a harbinger of what was to come. But those three seasons with wins at Macau were an indication of how hard she fought even when nobody was watching.

For the likes of Ashmita Chaliha and Anmol Kharb, who made the quarters at least at Macau, that is the Sindhu-development period they need to study carefully.

The Macau wins had a few routines. Back then, Sindhu was in Saina Nehwal’s shadow, so when she took her nondescript high-speed ferry rides from Hong Kong to the offshore island – given that was the only means to travel – there was little to none attention on what she was doing. Yet, the learning curve was nothing short of dramatic; all under the radar of course. There were the sort of matches that get called ‘chokes’ on the internet, but which build a player’s mental resilience like no success ever could.

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By the time Sindhu wrapped up the Macau title at the fag end of the season in 2015, she had played 20 three-setters, losing most of them. The Top 10 scalps had kept coming that year, the only one between 2013-2021 when she didn’t medal at the World Championships or Olympics. Sindhu even made the final at Denmark, without catching a break or nailing down a big title. But 2015 built the Sindhu character like no other year did.

One could make a Playlist of her Top 10 thrillers that year. At Macau against Lindaweni Fanetri, she pulled out a match from 7-17 down. At the Swiss earlier, she lost in 79 minutes after winning the opening game against Sun Yu, the taller Chinese who was supposed to rule the world. In Singapore, she dragged out a 17-20 match-points situation into a huffing-puffing 22-20 win in 57 minutes.

Medalling at the Asian Championships, a bronze, she averaged 79 minutes on court, including a loss from match point up in 78 minutes to Shixian Wang. The Uber Cup saw her go 5/5, but not before playing 84 minutes against Bellaetrix Manuputty, saving two match points, then frittering two, before stubbing out an opponent who didn’t last too long on the circuit. In the very next match against Sayaka Takahashi, Sindhu got embroiled in a 72- minute rollercoaster, saving a match point then botching four of her own before winning 26-24 in the decider.

These were not Top-10 opponents. But when coming up the ranks, even the best run into boulders of a challenge, which they need to push against. At the Worlds that year, playing Korean Bae Yeon Ju, Sindhu was 13-16 down, before she went on a flurry to lead 20-17. Trading match points had become routine then, before she allowed a toehold at 20-20 and finally shut the door at 25-23 in 75 minutes.

Nothing easy

The famous Nozomi Okuhara World Championships final didn’t come out of nowhere in 2017. In 2015, Sindhu played her longest match of the year at 86 minutes, against the terrifically skilled Shixian at the Worlds. A set and 12-16 down, an 8-point surge took her into the decider, where she could lose her snapping tail only after 15-all. There was no medal to show for it. But these were the marathon wins and losses that would shape Sindhu well before most Indians woke up to her success at Rio.

Her then-coach Pullela Gopichand would say, “She’s been on an emotional rollercoaster with the way she’s played matches. But whenever there’s a bad result, she’s bounced back. It’s a learning curve and the fightback against Shixian was brilliant.”

At Macau, where she went unbeaten for three years, after another wasting of two match points getting dragged into a decider, she would say, “I should’ve converted those. It was a bit disappointing to not finish in two.”

Consistency was a good goal to chase, but it didn’t define Sindhu’s greatness. But the pursuit of perfection and her struggles (though she was lucky to not have prolific social media critics in her time) were a reality. She wasn’t winning from Day 1, and even after Rio, the struggle increased multifold to convert silver to gold.

Macau, with its autumnal vibes, and Português-Italian architecture, familiarity with Goan food, and that hour-long ferry ride would always settle her nerves. For Ashmita, Anmol & Co, the lessons are obvious – it never gets easy, but fighting past losses and bouncing back is the only way. The Macau hat-trick is perhaps the least known of Sindhu’s achievements, but it holds the most learnings.