She knew that Olympic Games qualification was getting tougher by the day but when it was confirmed that she would not compete in Tokyo2020, Sikki Reddy felt an uneasy emptiness accompany the heartbreak. At a time when her friend PV Sindhu was expressing her confidence about doing well in the Olympics, Sikki Reddy was dealing with dreary emotions.
The left-handed badminton player’s mind was riddled with thoughts and, try hard as she did, she was unable to get them out of her system. “For a week, I was struggling. ‘Where did we go wrong?’ ‘What could we have done better?’ ‘Will there be another opportunity?’ were questions that floated in and out,” she said.
“It was stressful that Tokyo2020 was no longer possible,” she said. “Of course, our (Ashwini Ponnappa and her) showing in 2019 and the world situation later hurt us. But we had started finding victories and were confident that we would rise up the rankings to among the world’s top 16 pairs and get to the Olympic Games. It was disheartening.”
Sikki Reddy’s not offering excuses but said the roll of the dice was loaded against the pair. “Ashwini suffered a calf muscle injury in November 2019 during the Syed Modi International. She had been facing pain in her knee and calf muscles for close to three months before that. She went to Austria in January 2020 for treatment and rehabilitation,” she said.
To be sure, the Indian women’s doubles pair endured a nightmare time since Olympic qualification started on April 29, 2019. First round defeats were a common feature, with runner-up finishes in the Hyderabad Open and the Maldives Challenge coming only as some consolation.
“We started doing better in 2020 but the pandemic came in the way. And this year, we had done well in All-England Championships but the India Open was cancelled. We lost some home when that happened. We were confident of doing well and rising in the ranking charts. It would have been tough to be quarantined and then play in Malaysia and Singapore.
“Meanwhile, the European Championships were held, and the points included in the rankings; and the Badminton Asia Championships were not held at all in 2020. There was no time for to make up for lost time or opportunities,” Sikki Reddy said, conveying the disappointment in the week after the realisation that the Tokyo2020 dream had gone bust.
It was then that Chief Coach Pullela Gopichand sat the players down and had a conversation. “Gopi Sir made me realise that I had to recalibrate goals. Of course, from 2019 onwards, the focus was the Olympic Games but now we will shift our focus to the World Championships in November and the Commonwealth and Asian Games next year,” Sikki Reddy, 27, said.
“He told us that this is not the end. And made us believe that there is more to look forward to, more to play for. We can still win a medal in any major event, like the World Championships. He made me realise that we must be grateful for being healthy and being able to train. I am now focused on training and not looking too far ahead and add to the stress,” she said.
“The target now is the World Championships in November. Hopefully, the tournaments which are scheduled for that time will all be held so that we can continue rebuilding our return to the top bracket by playing well and performing well,” Sikki Reddy said. “And yes, I have just returned from practice. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to be training again.”
“Also, it is a good thing isn’t it that the next Olympic Games will be only three years away. As Gopi sir said I am training well, and my body is supporting me. His pointing that out was motivating. Ashwini will return from Bangalore, and we will get our six to eight weeks of practice together before the World Championships,” she said.
“I am a strong girl and know what I need to do to stay tough. We have not found the need for a psychologist because our coach is good and helps us resolve problems,” Sikki Reddy said, making it clear that the realisation that life has to go on has made her pick the pieces up and ensure that her love for the sport remains undiminished.
Image Courtesy: World Badminton Federation
