The secret for PV Sindhu was essentially revealed in the first point of the match itself. Against Beiwen Zhang in the Round of 16 at the French Open Super 750, the Indian took the shuttle early and hit a crosscourt smash winner to go up 1-0. However, she would abandon that tactic, letting the seasoned American – whom Sindhu had never played before back in 2011 – control the opening game. Sindhu kept going for clears to the backcourt, seemingly in an attempt to pin Zhang to the backcourt, but the shuttle most of the time landed long.

This is where small coaching adjustments really help. Sometimes, in the heat of combat, players misjudge the situation and attempt unsuccessful strategies. Having a real Indian badminton legend by my side and accepting a coaching assignment after 25 years solely to be in my corner, as Sindhu stated in her social media post following her victory in the first round I sincerely hope we have a lot more amazing times together, Prakash, sir.

Padukone, along with Agus Dwi Santoso of Indonesia, advised Sindhu to play more gently and not to rush. After a slow start, Sindhu’s shuttle control let her down, and the first game was lost rather quickly. After Santoso’s tactical advice during the intermission, Padukone’s soothing voice seemed to steadie Sindhu. “This end will be better for you,” the former All England champion informed her. “Play confidently, bring her to the net, make her lift, and then go for your smash. Alright? Best wishes to all. Perform well. Remain calm.

Sindhu took over from then on. With the score at zero, she pulled Zhang towards the net, had her rise, and then took a killing shot at her body. With a commanding display in the final two games, Sindhu defeated the world No. 10 13-21, 21-10, 21-14 to go to the quarterfinals.

First off, it’s fantastic news for Sindhu’s physical condition that he won back-to-back games in three demanding contests. On Tuesday, Sindhu fought Michelle Li for an 80-minute match that resulted in an extremely close score (20-22, 22-20, 21-19). After taking a few months off from the game, Sindhu is making a comeback and feels comfortable that her body can handle playing in multiple matches at a time.

That being said, it was also critical that Sindhu had confidence in her performance. Even though it was a hard battle between two players recovering from injuries, it wasn’t the best one. Mostly, it was about the struggle. But Sindhu’s abilities and strategies were put to the test in the encounter against Zhang. The American, who defeated Carolina Marin in the first round with great style, is far more difficult to manage than Li since she has a number of tricks up her sleeve, as demonstrated in the first game. Outstanding comeback

However, in the second game, Sindhu’s shift in tempo frequently caught Zhang off guard and had him look for an explanation. She forced the decider at one point after going seven points in a row. Again, Padukone gave some straightforward but insightful advice during the interval: “Now you will be playing with the wind, just remember that.” So, be cautious when handling the clears and keep the shuttle down. Take your time.

At 4-4, Sindhu’s defensive skills were put to the test on both flanks, but she persevered and secured a point. The Indian never gave up the lead after that.

After the change of ends, Zhang rallied, but Sindhu held off the American challenge with her trademark yells of “Come on!” and a few cheers of “Allez, Sindhu!” from the Parisian crowd. Even while it wasn’t as easy as the second game, Sindhu managed to pull off another upset to set up an exciting quarterfinal matchup with Olympic winner Chen Yu Fei.

This will be Sindhu’s first significant test in her preparation for Paris 2024, as she did not play against any of the best players at the Asia Team Championships. Though Chen has won two straight, Sindhu leads 6-5 in their first encounter in almost two years.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand defeated Sayaka Hirota and Yuki Fukushima, the former world champions, with remarkable style later in the day, winning 21-18 21-13. Despite not being active on the tour recently, Hirota wanted to attempt Olympic qualification, which is why he travelled to Paris wearing a bulky knee brace.

The majority of the effort on court had to be done by Fukushima, and the Indians were strong all around despite a few isolated flashes of individual brilliance from the Japanese pair.

They have already defeated the three-time silver medallists from the World Championships twice in their last two matches. The victory, coupled with defeating Tanisha Crasto-Ashwini Ponnappa, maintains a tight race for Paris between these two Indian pairings.

Kidambi Srikanth was disappointed, though, as he lost to Lu Guang Zu of China 21-19, 12-21, and 20-22. Lu followed up his victory over HS Prannoy with yet another hard-hitting performance, and he now has two Indians in the competition. A couple mistakes in the final game irritated Srikanth once more.