DROPPING down the world rankings will be a cause for concern for any top player but P.V. Sindhu (pic) is remaining calm.
The Indian women’s singles shuttler, who was ranked No. 7 prior to suffering a stress fracture in her left foot during the Commonwealth Games last August, had dropped to No. 13 in the latest rankings.
Sindhu had only returned to competitive action in the Malaysian Open in January and has been trying to regain her best form since.
The 2019 world champion’s best performance since her comeback was in the Spain Masters last month where she finished as runners-up.
“Obviously, I want to be in the top but because of the injury I couldn’t play for five months and my ranking dropped,” said Sindhu.
“It’s never easy to come back from injury but I’ve to accept that injuries do happen and I need to have patience and keep believing in myself.
“I can’t expect to win a tournament right after coming back from injury. I needed time to get back my rhythm.
“I believe that if I play well, my rankings will automatically improve.
“So, I just want to focus on every match and make sure I do well.”
Yesterday, Sindhu marched into the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Masters after beating Japan’s world No. 28 Aya Ohori 21-16, 21-11 at the Axiata Arena.
The 27-year-old was pleased to secure the straightforward victory after she had to dig deep to overcome Denmark’s world No. 33 Line Christophersen 21-13, 17-21, 21-18 a day earlier.
“On Tuesday, my performance was a bit rusty. Today, (yesterday) it was better as I was used to the court conditions and I’m happy that I won.
“I’m taking it one match at a time here,” added Sindhu, who will face China’s world No. 18 Zhang Yiman in the last eight today.
