Indian Sports Ministry approves the request of Shuttler PV Sindhu to have her personal trainer, Physio for the upcoming tournaments scheduled In January 2021. The approval was granted under the Target Olympics Podium Scheme which is a government program started for all those athletes who are expected to bring medals in the upcoming Olympics and helping them financially and infrastructure wise so that they can complete their training accordingly.
The total fees which have been sanctioned by Sports Ministry is around Rs 8.25 Lakhs(which is approximately 11,300 US Dollars). However, it will not be an easy ride for the Indian top shuttler as she will be returning on the court in January which is almost a year gap due to COVID-19. As the Rio Olympics silver medalist was last seen in competitive action in March at the All England Championships.
As the Majority of the Badminton tournaments were postponed this year apart from Denmark Open and SaarLorLux Open which Sindhu opted not to take part due to COVID-19. While the Asian Leg of the BWF tour expected to kick off in January. As Sindhu will be focusing on these three tournaments in a row which starts from Yonex Thailand Open from January 12 to 17th 2021 followed by Toyota Thailand Open and BWF World Tour finals from January 19 to 31 2021 respectively.
The ace Indian shuttler is yet to clinch a berth at the BWF World Tour finals after Badminton World Federation dismissed the direct entry rule for the world champions in October 2020. While she has not taken part in any competitive tournament in more than a year but she was practicing in London alongside British shuttlers Toby Penty and Rajiv Ouseph at the National Training Centre and she is in consultation with Gatorade Sports Science Institute in London for her diet and nutrition as she doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned before heading in Olympics 2021 next year.
