“A weak defence wasthe reason behind PV Sindhu’s slip in performance early in the year and theCOVID-induced break has helped her address the flaw and also work on her motionskills ahead of the Tokyo Olympics”, said India’s foreign coach Park Tae-sang.
The 42-year-old, whowas roped in for India’s men’s singles players in 2019, has been trainingSindhu following the departure of fellow Korean coach Kim Ji Hyun after theBasel World Championship two years ago.
“Sindhu’s defence isweak compared to her attack. So I have been focussing on her defence trainingbefore the Olympics,” Park, who was the national coach with the Korean teamfrom 2013 to 2018, told PTI.
“When Olympic waspostponed, I thought it was an opportunity to work on her motion skills, andnet training. All top players like Akane Yamaguchi, Tai Tzu Ying all know thatSindhu has got a strong attack, so they wait for her powerful smash.
“So we have tried towork on her defence which has been her weakness. So the idea was to help herget some variation from the back of the court, like playing more drops ortosses or half smashes.”
"I know a lot ofpeople felt there was something not right with her physical strength when shelost in Thailand Open but it wasn't so. She reached the Swiss final, and AllEngland semifinal and fitness has not been a problem," Park stated.
He said, further, "Herdefence was the one only problem. (Carolina) Marin and Pornpawee (Chochuwong)are good attacking players, they were using a lot of half smash and straightsmash, and when Sindhu's defence goes down on a day, it affects her otherskills as well, she gets nervous.
"But now she hasimproved a lot in her defence as well. Her endurance on the court is alsogood."
With Marin pullingout of the Games due to a knee injury, Park has no doubt that Tai Tzu would beSindhu's biggest rival at the Olympics.