“Comeback was a lot harder than I imagined,” PV Sindhu opens up on her challenges after her runner-up finish at the Madrid Masters

Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu finished runners-up in the Madrid Masters after she lost to Gregoria Mariska Tungjung in the finals. This was Sindhu’s first podium since her Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham in August last year.

Sindhu suffered from a stress fracture during her journey to the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. She kept fighting through pain and finished with the elusive gold. But she paid a big price as her recovery took a long time and she kept on missing several tournaments. She missed the BWF World Tour Finals and later bowed out of several top tournaments due to her struggle with fitness and lingering form.

She came to Madrid after three first-round exits and was determined to do well. Her lacklustre form also saw her drop out of the top 10 world rankings for the first time since 2016. Hence Madrid Masters was of prime importance and she desperately wanted to do well.

Therefore Sindhu has exceeded expectations with the runners-up finish but she needs to keep working on herself to regain her best rhythm and fitness. She looked out of ideas in the finals against Tunjung.

Nevertheless, it was an emotional moment for Sindhu to win her first trophy after the long injury layoff. “First trophy after my injury lay-off, the come back was challenging and a lot harder than I imagined,” Sindhu tweeted.

She expressed her gratitude towards her fans who always believe in their ace shuttler to make a strong comeback. She also highlighted how difficult it was to develop self-belief, especially after multiple setbacks in recent times.

“It took some time for the self-belief to come back and hopefully it has come. To everyone who truly believed I would come back, just know that I am grateful for your support,” she added.

Sindhu assured her fans that she will be working much harder to get back her best form and will be fighting again for titles in the coming tournaments. Lastly, she expressed her gratitude towards her support staff in Madrid.

“Now it is back to training and doubling down on the training front to get ready for a gruelling 12-month schedule. Always grateful to my support staff. Your work will never go unnoticed,” She concluded.

It is a big year for the double Olympics medallist and she will aim to be in her best form when the events come one after another.