PV Sindhu: I can win gold too

Seven successive finals and as many silvers Thats been the pattern for PV Sindhu every time shes entered a final The script however changed yesterday when Indias star World No 6 shuttler finally crossed the line to end up on the winning sideSindhu 23 broke her final jinx after her gold medal show in the World Tour Finals in Guangzhou China yesterday She defeated former World champion Japans Nozomi Okuhara 2119 2117 to become the first Indian to win a World Tour Finals eventThe Rio Olympics silver medallist was relieved to end the year on a golden note I have no words to express how I feel right now because this is my first win of the year and every time I entered a final I ended up losing I am happy to end the year on a golden note an excited Sindhu told midday from ChinaThe final hurdleSindhus inability to clear the final hurdle invited the choker tag The Hyderabadi did not fail to remind her critics that she can win gold too with yesterdays victory Most importantly this win is an answer to everybody who said that I always end up winning a silver and not gold This will be the most memorable tournament for me because I am proud of the way I played today said Sindhu who played her third successive World Tour Finals finalIn the first game Sindhu made most of the drop shots and looked good at the net to lead 73 but Okuhara narrowed down the deficit to 57 After the breather Sindhu extended her lead to 146 before Okuhara clawed back to make it 1616 But Okuhara smashed wide twice to hand Sindhu a 1917 advantage In the second game Sindhu engaged in long rallies with Okuhara leading 64 Sindhu however managed to stay ahead and led 119 at the interval after Okuhara lost a video referralOkuhara kept snapping at her rivals heels to make it 1617 A return to the net gave Sindhu a 1816 lead and from there on didnt let the game slip away and won it comfortably Talking about her onehour two minutes final Sindhu said The most important thing for me before this tournament was that I got time to prepare I knew that each match is going to be different and I had to be readyTough drawAlso I had a tough draw so I couldnt take any match lightly be it Akane Yamaguchi Tai Tzu Ying or Ratchanok Intanon All of them have different styles of play so I had to give my best all the time I feel that the hard work on and off the court paid offHer return flight to India prevented Sindhu from celebrating her momentous victory I love shopping but I dont have much time to go to far off places There are some malls nearby and I would go there and pick up whatever I like before I head home she saidSindhus mother P Vijaya who accompanied her to China was thrilled To see Sindhu win a gold was wonderful I always saw her end up losing in the final For most part of the match I was very tense I heaved a sigh of relief when she won the contest she saidWith inputs from PTISrikanth VarmaFaster fitter Sindhu credits trainer VarmaRealising the need to work on speed and fitness PV Sindhu hired personal trainer Srikanth Varma last year She said the move has paid off Srikanth has been working closely with me for almost a year and in this tournament it all came together beautifully He has improved my speed and endurance she told midday Sindhu also acknowledged her coaches P Gopichand Indonesian Dwi C and Rifan Jaya for World Tour Finals preparations The win was a combined effort of everybody from Gopi sir to Dwi Rifan I cant thank them enoughCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates