Long before PV Sindhu stood weeping on the podium at the Japan Open last week, holding her first major trophy in over two years, the foundation for her return was laid in a quiet, unscripted meeting in Bengaluru.
The preceding 24 months had been brutal. After effects of a stress fracture, a painful early exit at the Paris Olympics, results that refused to arrive. Rehabilitation stalled and restarted more times than anyone cared to count, and a title drought stretching back to the 2024 Syed Modi International grew heavier by the month. Written off by critics, worn down by recurring niggles, the two-time Olympic medallist reached a rare breaking point.
Desperate for perspective from someone who understood the isolation of the top, she called Virat Kohli.
“One thing I’ll always be grateful for is Virat bhai,” Sindhu said in a post on X.
“I reached out to him at one of the lowest points of my career. Injuries were piling up, the results weren’t coming, and I just needed someone who understood. He replied within minutes, and we met the very next day.”
Accompanied by her husband, Venkata Datta Sai, who has been a pillar of support throughout her rebuilding phase and instrumental in assembling her current team with a sharper focus on data, Sindhu spent hours in conversation with former India captain Virat Kohli.
“What we spoke about will always stay between us. But I’ll always be grateful that when I needed someone, he was there. He didn’t say much, but every word stayed with Datta and me. Some conversations change the way you see things. That was one of them.”
Kohli’s advice was almost insultingly simple: stop chasing silverware, find the joy again.
“The biggest thing I took away was the importance of finding your joy again,” Sindhu admitted.
“Today, I know exactly why I wake up for those 5:30 a.m. sessions. And I can honestly say… it isn’t the trophies. It isn’t the wins. It’s something much deeper.”
The joy arrived dressed in a trophy anyway on Sunday. Sindhu beat home favourite Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 in the final to become the first Indian to win the Japan Open, and, at 31, the oldest woman ever to lift a Super 750 crown. She raced ahead, was hauled back, survived a brutal 36-shot rally to level at 11-11, and shut the door on Yamaguchi’s late fightback at 17-17. The second game was the first, in miniature: dominance, a flicker of resistance, a Sindhu who no longer blinked.
ONE DAY AT A TIME
The rebuilding behind that composure was structural as much as spiritual. Working with Datta, strength trainer Wayne Lombard, and Indonesian coach Irwansyah, Sindhu shed 3.5 kilograms, sharpened her net deceptions, and learnt to survive long rallies against defensive specialists rather than simply overpower them. The patience was philosophical before it was tactical.
“For me, taking it one day at a time mattered a lot,” she said.
“I kept telling myself, ‘Let’s see what comes next. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.’ Slowly, I started getting better.”
There would be no half-measures.
“I wanted to be at my best and at 100%. Because if I’m only 50% fit and say I’m alright, go onto the court, lose in the first round and come back, that doesn’t really matter.”
Everyone else was asking if it was over. Sindhu was asked to turn that question on herself. She didn’t dodge it
“Actually, I didn’t ask myself that question,” she said.
“But when you have an injury as an athlete, you do doubt yourself. You wonder, ‘What is happening? Can I come back stronger? Will this niggle be alright? Can I give my 100%?’ Those were the thoughts and emotions going through my mind because, when you’re injured, you’re sometimes emotionally drained and mentally really low.”
DATA AND ATTACK
Her game has changed as much as her mind. Under Irwansyah, the net play has stopped being an afterthought to the smash and become a weapon in its own right. Her aggression is now both from the back and fore court.
“It’s not just about smashes,” she said.
“Variety in your strokes is very important because players have become much stronger in defence. So you need to mix your game accordingly. From both the front and the back of the court, I used drops, half-smashes and clears.”
Data now sits alongside instinct. It is helping her train better and recover better.
“Data has been one of the most important aspects. Monitoring your strain, understanding why you’re not moving properly on a given day. Otherwise you might start thinking, ‘What’s wrong with me? Have I become slow?’ That can put you in a negative frame of mind. Instead, data tells you what’s happening and why.”
India hosts the World Championships in New Delhi next month, the Asian Games in Japan soon after. Sindhu arrives no longer running from decline but towards something she chose to want again.
“More than giving a reply, I just want to say that I’ve always believed in myself,” she said.
“Yes, it’s been a long time and, for me, this title was very, very important. It gives me a lot of confidence and belief that, yes, I can do it. And it’s not over yet.”
She stopped chasing the trophy. In Tokyo, it came looking for her.
– Ends
