Padukone wants Sindhu to prioritise her schedule

Bengaluru, August 8: Badminton legend Prakash Padukone feels PV Sindhu should prioritise her schedule and skip small tournaments to be ready for mega events like World Championships.

Padukone, who is the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships, also opined that Sindhu doesn't have any mental block in major finals and urged the media to not put the star shuttler under pressure by focussing on her defeats.

Sindhu lost the World Championship final to Spain's Carolina Marin, her third major final defeat. She had lost the Worlds final last year and the title clash of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

She also finished runner-up in the Superseries Finals in Dubai last year.

"It is quite creditable that she reached the final again. The competition is very tough. She should aim for the gold next time. She beat two Japanese players (Okuhara and Yamaguchi) against whom she normally loses. Unfortunate that she could not do the same in the final," Padukone told reporters on the sidelines of PNB Metlife Junior Badminton Championship in New Delhi.

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Asked if she has a mental block in major finals, he said: "There is nothing like that. She is still young, she will definitely win (the world championship) in near future. She is already one the greatest players from India."

"We should not put too much pressure on her when she is doing well. She is world number three. The focus should be on how we can make her win rather than why she is losing the final again and again. If we keep doing that, she would only feel more pressure."

National coach Pullela Gopichand has produced a host of world-class players including Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth.

Padukone feels time has come that an overburdened Gopichand gets some assistance.

"Gopi is doing a good job. He needs somebody with him to assist him. There are so many good players. For one coach to take care of so many players, it would be difficult," said the former World Cup winner.

Padukone said he was also impressed by young shuttler Lakshya Sen.

On Saina's recent run, he said: "she needs to be a little consistent and manage her schedule better."

(With inputs from Agencies)