Painful to miss Olympics, says Sikki Reddy
If only the Covid-19 pandemic had not happened it would have been a different story, said the badminton player
Hyderabad: Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy, the top women’s doubles of the country, were within striking distance of grabbing a ticket for Tokyo Olympics before the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic poured cold water on their dreams. The left-handed Hyderabad shuttler is obviously depressed, disappointed and hurt as she lost a good opportunity to play in the Olympics. They are presently placed 27th in the BWF ranking.
“We were on the course for the Tokyo Olympics. If only the Covid-19 pandemic had not happened it would have been a different story. We were confident of qualifying for the Tokyo Games but the cancellation of the India Open in New Delhi made all the difference. We were heart-broken as we had made remarkable strides in the women’s doubles. We could have qualified if any of the three –India Open, Singapore Open and Malaysian Open–had taken place,” said Sikki, known for her indomitable spirit.
It was so close but yet so far for the Indian doubles combination. “Ashwini made a remarkable comeback after recovering from last year’s injury and we were getting into a good rhythm in the few tournaments that we got to play. The European players were lucky as they had the tournaments there and it helped them to qualify. For the Asian players, it was a big setback as we could not have any tournaments in this region,” said Sikki.
But all is not lost, says Sikki, who is now training with Pullela Gopichand. “The Olympics chapter is closed and dusted. That anxiety and tension is over. The pain will be there but we are now focusing on the August tournaments and the World Championship. But we are not sure whether that will happen or not because of the fluid situation of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no clarity on tournaments or rankings.”
Sikki said it took some time to come back to reality and Gopichand had words of encouragement. “He told that we are not old and can set goals for the World Championship and other big events like the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.”
The changes of foreign doubles coaches (Tan Kim Her, Flandy Limpele and now Mathias Boe) in a period of five years did hurt Sikki and Ashwini a little. “The frequent changes did affect our game a little bit as each coach had a different style. It does take time before a player gets adjusted to the new coach. It makes a difference. Nevertheless, we have improved as doubles players. There is better understanding among us although we are not in the same city as Ashwini is from Bengaluru. We exchange our notes through video calls. This year, we worked hard and were playing really well. We beat a couple of top players in the Super Series tournaments. We lost in the quarterfinals in All England championship.”
The 27-year-old shuttler said the present Denmark coach Boe is focusing on speed and consistency. “He has a vast experience as a player and his inputs are very useful. “She added they are trying to overcome the quarterfinal jinx. “We need to learn to finish off the game against big players in big tournaments. Somehow we are losing in three games after a good fight.”
Sikki pointed out that it is frustrating as there are no tournaments around. “We can’t set any goals or assess our game by being restricted to practice sessions. For a few players it is very difficult to get motivated. That is the challenge for the players now. We sometimes don’t know what we are training for.”
She thinks Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have a very good chance of winning a medal at Tokyo. “I have a gut feeling that they may win a medal in Tokyo. Their win would give a big boost to the doubles in the country. Satwik is really good in attack. He oozes confidence and his anticipation on the court is marvellous. Chirag is smart and controls the game beautifully.”
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