New Delhi: India's PV Sindhu on Saturday settled for a bronze medal after losing her semi-final match at the World Championships and former players said the rising shuttler has a bright future ahead but she has to learn from her mistakes.
Sindhu suffered a 10-21, 13-21 loss against world no. 3 Ratchanok Inthanon in the semi-finals and her parents felt that she could not play her natural game.
"Sindhu could not put up a fight today. She could not handle the strokes of Ratchanok. There was drift on one side and at this level, she has to learn how to handle that," former volleyball player and Sindhu's father, PV Ramana said.
Sindhu's mother P Vijaya said: "She didn't play well today. She could not play her natural game. I hope she will be better in next tournament."
Former international Uday Pawar felt Sindhu made some tactical errors but said the Indian will overcome her weakness in times to come.
"Sindhu got all her tactics wrong. She made too many unforced errors. She played correctly only in patches. But she is young and she has beaten some top players in the tournament and she will be a better player in times to come," he said.
"She likes to play against players who gives her speed but her weak point is against players who keep retrieving the shuttle and players like Inthanon who uses her deceptive shots. But Sindhu will overcome her weakness for sure.
"After Sindhu's performance, we can safely say that women badminton is coming of age. With such victories, more and more girls will take up the sport. Her performance will inspire more girls and we will have many more Sainas and Sindhus in the country," Pawar added.
Former India coach Vimal Kumar also heaped praise on Sindhu but said it is still too early to compare her with London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal or Prakash Padukone, who won India's first singles bronze medal at World championships.
Analysing the semi-final match, he said: "Sindhu could not understand Ratchanok's deceptive badminton. The Thai girl did not allow Sindhu to attack. She is a tricky players, similar to what Prakash used to be in the 1980s.
"She kept Sindhu guessing, whether it was from the back court or at the net. Sindhu could have rallied a bit and then attack. Of course, Sindhu is very young and she needs to cope with this sort of game.
"However, it is too early for her to be compared with Saina. Saina has been there for five years and delivered.
Sindhu is a very good prospect but she has to be more consistent and add variation to her game."
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