The badminton season is nearly over but PV Sindhu’s mornings are still spent at the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, honing her skills and sticking to a strict routine planned for her by coach Pullela Gopichand.
Together, the guru-shishya duo has broken even more barriers and created more records this year, than the last. 2018 saw Sindhu reach as many as six finals on the circuit and even though she finished on the losing end of five, the India number one has capped off the year with a title at the BWF World Tour Finals in China.
2019 now brings fresh challenges of a comparatively less gruelling season on the circuit but also the more important qualification tournaments for the 2020 Olympics.
On the sidelines of a training session for the Premier Badminton League that starts on 22 December in Mumbai, the coach and his champion pupil spoke to The Quint in a candid chat on each other, their superstitions and their achievements.
(The interview was conducted before Sindhu played the Tour Finals in China)
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