Sindhu reveals mantra for World Championships after stunning win: Not much to prove

Two-time Olympic medalist P.V. Sindhu said she had nothing left to prove after producing one of her finest performances of the year, stunning world number two Wang Zhi Yi of China to storm into the quarter-finals of the World Championships on Thursday.

The 2019 world champion admitted she had entered the tournament with a renewed sense of focus following a difficult spell marked by injuries and inconsistent results and revealed the mantra that helped her rediscover her rhythm on the big stage.

"There's not much to prove. I have already proved myself, but at the end of the day, last year and the beginning of this year were not great for me. There were lots of ups and downs, and injuries made it harder. I wanted to win, but things didn't go the way I planned. It wasn't just about the World Championships, but also the training I had put in. After those early-round exits, my coach and I sat down and discussed what was going wrong. We started focusing and working on those areas," Sindhu said after her 21-19, 21-15 triumph that lasted 48 minutes.

For Sindhu, the key lay in trusting her preparation and keeping her mind uncluttered. "My coach has always told me one thing - just play your game and give your best, irrespective of the result. That's what he keeps reminding me. Going into this World Championships, I had the same mindset: I just wanted to give my best, and that's all that really mattered to me," she said.

While acknowledging Wang's blistering pace and deceptive half-smashes, the Indian was prepared for long rallies and tactical variations. "I had prepared well, but I have to admit she was better today. It was important to stay sharp because she can pull off surprising shots at any time."

Ranked 15th in the world, Sindhu made a bright start in the opening game, racing to an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval with a flurry of sharp smashes and neat winners at the net. Though Wang fought back to level at 19-19, the Indian held her nerve to close out the game before maintaining her dominance in the second. A 57-shot rally briefly tested her resolve, but Sindhu regained control with decisive attacking play to seal the match. The win also extended her strong record against Chinese shuttlers at the Worlds, having previously defeated Wang Yihan, Wang Shixian, Li Xuerui, Sun Yu and Chen Yufei in earlier editions.

Later in the day, India's top doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty staged a superb fightback to beat China's Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang 19-21, 21-15, 21-17, registering their first win against the pair after four successive defeats.

Sindhu, meanwhile, will now face world number nine Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the quarter-finals, where victory would secure her a record-equaling sixth World Championships medal. The Indonesian had beaten her in straight games at the Sudirman Cup earlier this year, though the Indian prevailed in their Asian Games clash in 2022.