India’s badminton star PV Sindhu said on Monday she is looking for a consistent run leading up to the 2020 Olympics, starting with the India Open tournament this week.
Olympic silver medallist Sindhu suffered a first-round exit in the women’s singles of the All England Open early this month.
The 23-year-old Sindhu, who claimed the World Tour Finals in December last year, said she has put the All England loss behind her to focus on qualifying for the Olympics.
Qualification for next year’s Tokyo Games will depend on badminton world rankings between April 29, 2019 and April 26, 2020.
Two players each from men’s and women’s category will be allotted an Olympic berth if they are ranked in the top 16.
“2019, it wasn’t a really good start. I have been losing and winning,” world No six and top seed Sindhu told reporters ahead of the India Open starting Tuesday.
“It is these three tournaments (India, Malaysia and Singapore) and then the Olympic qualifications will also start. I have to be mentally and physically fit to give my best.
“I felt bad for a few days (after the All England loss) but then I thought it’s not over with this and there is a lot more to come. Every time you can come back much more stronger and learn from your mistakes,” said the star shuttler.
Sindhu will open against compatriot Mugdha Agrey and is expected to face a sterner test later in the week with Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon and Chinese third seed He Bingjiao also in contention.