Conventional wisdom would suggest PV Sindhu faces tough odds at the Japan Open Superseries, which begins in Tokyo on Tuesday. After all, she is in a particularly lopsided half of the draw, with world champion Nozomi Okuhara, Olympic champion Carolina Marin, Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal and two-time world junior champion Akane Yamaguchi among those battling for a place in the final from her section. Still, it's hard to imagine the 22-year-old from Hyderabad fretting too much on the flight from Seoul to Tokyo.
Today, it's difficult to picture how forlorn a figure Sindhu cut at the conclusion of the Glasgow World Championships less than a month ago. She had finished on the wrong end of an epic one hour, fifty minute loss to Okuhara in a final that saw her collapse in exhaustion multiple times on court. For the second time in a year, she had fallen just short in the final of a major tournament (her three-game loss to Carolina Marin in the Rio Olympic final being the first). Along with praise for the nature of the duel, there were unkind doubts over her mental resolve.
However, the defeat to her Japanese opponent never got a chance to fester. Narratives of 'choking' were buried on Sunday, when, in her first match against Okuhara since Glasgow, Sindhu triumphed in another grueling three-game contest to claim the Korea Open Superseries title.
To be fair to Sindhu, these concerns over intestinal fortitude, while thought up by less-than-charitable writers and believed by some well-meaning fans, were not shared by the player herself. "My time will come," Sindhu had said at the press conference following the defeat.
Coach Pullela Gopichand, too, says the disappointment faded quickly. "Even after the World Championships loss, neither Sindhu nor I spoke about the match after about half an hour," he says. "I don't think Sindhu ever in her mind admitted defeat. Glasgow might have been a lost opportunity but I doubt she thought she was beaten," says former national champion Aparna Popat.
While victory over Okuhara is being portrayed as a sort of vengeance, it's unlikely the players feel that way. Neither player appeared to have recovered completely - both physically or emotionally - from their previous encounter. Sindhu had a hard time just reaching the final - being stretched to three games in the quarterfinals and semifinals before willing her way through. This is a very different Sindhu from the player who once had to be goaded by Gopichand into yelling at him in an attempt to make her more assertive.
The decision Sindhu made to pick herself up and compete in the very next available tournament, while most of her compatriots chose to rest, is not given as much credit as it should. "The best players in the world are the ones who are both physically and emotionally strong. You cannot take the lows and highs of playing too close to heart. Sindhu knows she has to be emotionally strong to succeed at this level," Gopichand says. "Keeping that in mind, simply reaching the final and pulling through the matches she did to get in there shows her maturity. If she wasn't as mature, she would have lost in the early rounds," says Popat.
Sindhu's maturity was also apparent in the way she adapted without the comforting presence of either coach Gopichand or Mulyo Handoyo in her corner. While coaches Siddharth and Ambarish, both experienced members of the Gopichand Academy, were present, the tactical nous in conserving energy that Sindhu displayed against Okuhara was all her own and worthy of credit, even though the faster courts in Korea made her job easier in comparison to the rally-friendly slowness of Glasgow. "Sindhu's style of playing is very sapping to the body. In the final of the World Championships, it took a lot out of her to play like she had for three games. But in Korea she knew when to save herself. She was able to adapt against Okuhara very well," says Gopichand.
"If Sindhu manages to develop some variation, I don't see anyone coming close to her."
The fact that Sindhu was able to match and beat Okuhara in a relentless three-game match is an indication of her own evolution as a player. "Both her recent matches against Okuhara have come at the very end of the tournament. And there is no respite when you play her. But Sindhu is seasoned enough to play longer rallies with her. Pre-Olympics you would see her playing shorter rallies and giving away those longer points. It is a good sign. She isn't making errors in the first three shots. She isn't making mistakes early," says Popat.
And the reason Sindhu can stay in the fight longer is because of a steadily-improving defence. Compared to her game even a year ago, it's almost impossible to find the gaping holes on Sindhu's side of the court. Opponents have ever-shrinking margins now. "It is clear that she is working on it. Her defense isn't just a matter of retrieving smashes but a lot to do with staying in the point. She scrambles very well for a tall athlete. Even when she is stuck on her backhand it isn't impossible for her to recover," says Popat.
Sindhu's steady improvement, Popat believes, is the most ominous sign for opponents. "That is a real eye opener. You see that she is still a work in progress. She can add so many things to her game. You just look at her achievements and sometimes it is a real wonder how much she has won despite having so much potential to improve," she says.
"I don't think Sindhu ever in her mind admitted defeat. Glasgow might have been a lost opportunity but I doubt she thought she was beaten"
Sindhu has already shown glimpses of that subtlety in Korea. But the two strokes she introduced - a forehand clear to the backcourt and a backhand crosscourt - have so far been limited to defensive play. Creating variation when she attacks at the net could devastate opponents. For the moment, her speed and power are what's most challenging for her opponents. "She is coming so fast and in women's badminton it is not easy to hit over her or to counter smashes and send them up all the time. If she manages to develop some variation, I don't see anyone coming close to her. It's menacing the way she comes to the net and hits with such strength. If she gets a little more wrist at the net, I wouldn't want to play her," says Popat.
Developing multiple solutions would give Sindhu a fitness cushion as well. The Indian relies on her speed to cover the court and get behind the shuttle. This becomes harder when she is injured - as has happened once in the run-up to the Olympics. "Till she gets that variation in her game, she will continue to rely on her fitness and her speed and that increases the risk of injury. Adding variety will give her a cushion and make it easier for her to play longer matches too," Popat says.
While Sindhu is in ominous form and her potential is immense, she isn't unbeatable. Just as she prepared for and beat Okuhara, Sindhu's own game will be dissected in detail. In the absence of much variation, Sindhu can be guilty of falling into the trap of predictability. One opponent who has given her trouble in recent months has been Taiwanese World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying, who is in the other half of the draw in Tokyo. "She just has so many strokes and she plays by instinct. She doesn't have a pattern when she plays. And when you can't find a pattern, you are constantly guessing all the time. Sindhu is good at moving one-dimensionally. When she knows where to move, she is very good. To change direction suddenly against Tai Tzu becomes difficult," says Popat.
And it isn't just Tai Tzu. "Women's badminton is very challenging right now. There isn't any reason to assume Marin will not come back strong. Or that Okuhara could adapt. All these players are constantly changing their strokes and evolving. Sindhu will have to keep evolving too," she says.