Dominant Sindhu lifts home crowd

With new coach, Irwansyah Adi Pratama, by her side, Sindhu picks up a handsome win to enter quarterfinals

- ANMOL GURUNG @New Delhi

NEW coach, new season and a new beginning. PV Sindhu has spent countless days dedicating her life to badminton but the ongoing India Open marked a fresh sojourn for her. Her stock, purely in terms of her performance inside the court, has taken a nosedive in the last twelve months or so but she has been in high spirits in recent days. It might take a good number of wins to retrace her old winning habits but she seems to be in the right direction under Irwansyah Adi Pratama, the Indonesian coach who was recently recruited to coach India's women's singles unit.

On Thursday, she put up a dominant performance, albeit against a much lower-ranked opponent, but it was still a noteworthy performance as the two-time Olympic medallist thrilled the home crowd, who were totally engrossed in her match, celebrating every point that Sindhu won.

Irwansyah, who was behind her, was unsurprisingly totally invested as well. He was egging her on and clapping his hands, giving his nod of approval. Sindhu mixed her game well, employing both her attacking instincts and her defensive shots, to script a 21-15, 21-13 victory over Manami Suizu.

Given the circumstances, this is monumental for the Indian. Sindhu was naturally pleased with her output. "It's good to be back, dominating matches. I'm very happy playing with her because it was our first time, and I think I was prepared for the long rallies," Sindhu told reporters after the match.