Our players must learn to seize the moment: Vimal Kumar

There is a lot to be learnt from both Carolina Marin and PV Sindhu's performances in the women's badminton final at the Rio Olympics. Marin is quick, sharp and currently has been playing at a much faster pace than any other player on the circuit. Sindhu's strategy of containing Marin's pace and counterattacking in the final was good to a certain extent.
The crucial phase, however, was the third game.Sindhu launched a fighting comeback to level the score at 10-10. Marin, at that point, looked vulnerable, but Sindhu gave away some easy points to allow the Spaniard to again extend her lead to 14-10. Here too, Sindhu had her chances as she made Marin work and bridged the gap to 16-14. Marin again appeared shaky but Sindhu could not capitalise on that situation.
Whether it is Saina Nehwal or Sindhu, the ability to seize the advantage in such situations is what is lacking at the highest level for our shuttlers. Not only badminton, this factor has badly affected the psyche of our athletes across sports.
Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps deliver what is expected from them even under tremendous pressure on big occasions. But why do our athletes, especially the archers and shooters, perform exceedingly well in international competitions when there is no attention or pressure but are unable to give the same results at the Olympics? Obviously, the resolve to put it across is wanting, especially on big occasions where expectations are high.
We can no longer use excuses such as 'we are mentally weak' or 'lacking killer instinct'. If athletes are mentally weak, they will not be playing at such a high level. Our fitness levels have definitely gone up and technically also we have improved. Saina and Sindhu beat the top-ranked players regularly on the circuit, but what is to be noted is that in three big finals -All England and World Championships last year and the Olympics Marin got the better of us.
Take the German Open in February last year. Marin went down tamely to Korea's Sung Ji Hyun in the final. But she pulled herself up so well in the All-England, which was scheduled days later. When Marin faced Saina in the final, she seized the moment although she had lost the first game.
It is this fighting resolve of Marin to deliver which, in my opinion, can be addressed by experts in our country who have experienced it and studied such situations really well. Furthermore, the elite players should have the mindset to work on it rather than ignoring it. It is very subtle and our typical mindset is to just train hard and hope everything falls in place. But when you fail to deliver, it needs to be addressed. I emphasize this mainly because both Saina and Sindhu have defeated Marin on many occasions.
Another aspect I have noticed is that the Indian media was glorifying Sindhu on achieving a silver medal even before the final was played. This psyche of ours needs to change. When we achieve something special, the contentment is such that the last step is always forgotten. This is happening not only in badminton but to our other elite sportspersons as well.
U Vimal Kumar is a former national champion and currently coaches Saina Nehwal.