RIO DE JANEIRO --- The story goes that as a 14-year old at the Pullela Gopichand academy in Hyderabad, PV Sindhu would tower over other players in her age group. The daughter of volleyball players, her father Ramanna in fact captained India and is an Arjuna awardee. Sindhu was genetically blessed.
Gopichand recognised very early on that this was not just another eager student among his campers. He nurtured her and drove her relentlessly as Sindhu grew taller, stronger, faster and more skilled. Over the last few days in Rio, that near decade long investment has repaid spectacularly.
Having scalped three players seeded above her en route to the Olympic final, Sindhu has already claimed permanent membership of an elite club of Indian female athletes who have won individual Olympic medals.
Each of the four women to have done so previously - Karnam Malleswari, MC Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and now Sakshi Malik, won bronze. Sindhu is already assured a silver. Minimum. Only three other Indian athletes since independence have an individual Olympic silver - Rajyavardhan Rathore, Sushil Kumar and Vijay Kumar. Only one has Gold.
After her semifinal win on Thursday, Abhinav Bindra tweeted - "What a player, PV Sindhu. I am waiting for you to join me in the club. You have no idea how lonely it has been!"
When asked to respond, Sindhu shyly smiled - "Definitely I would want to make that wish come true, I will play my heart out."
Playing her "heart out" is the only way Sindhu knows. Soft-spoken and mild off the court, she is demonic on it. Every point won is met with a fierce yelp to herself and a left-handed fist pump that resonates like a power punch. In her semifinal against Nozomi Okuhura, Sindhu barraged them out with what appeared to be increased intensity.
Okuhura had beaten her in their last three encounters but on this day, the Japanese was the punching bag, resisting as well as she could to an incessant storm. Sindhu set the pace on a raucous, noisy day at the badminton arena, unleashing a blistering attack.
More than once she would commit an inexplicable error but more than once she would leave Okuhura tumbling on the ground, failing in a desperate scramble to reach the shuttle, sent across court with a whizzy, spicy velocity. At just a shade over 5'1", Okuhura surrendered nine inches in height to Sindhu.
Were we back in Hyderabad at an age-group tournament? Was she 14 again? Was she whipping a hapless girl, intimidated by the sheer wingspan of her rival across court?
Nah. This was the World No.6. Okuhura has been constructed to overcome her deficiency in stature. If Sindhu is lean and long-limbed, Okuhura's lower body strength powers her game.
Okuhura's legs visibly stockier, clearly toned with hours of gym work, carry her through matches like these. She anticipates being in extended confrontations made up of long rallies, plenty of retrieving and defensive play, plotting her way to find pathways to exploit. Sindhu offers her a few in the opening game where she holds on to the lead throughout but watches it being chipped away. 5-3. 10-6. 12-8. 14-10. 15-13. 19-17. 21-19. Phew.
It takes three minutes short of half hour, but Sindhu is resilient and pockets the first game. Okuhura is unflustered. She has prepared for this.
Just like at the start of the match, she engages in a meditational routine at the start of game two, standing by the court, eyes closed in apparent prayer. Sindhu only needs a word or two from Gopichand. His voice is assuring in this cauldron. He has been there since she was kid. You got this girl, forget about the stage. You are 14, beating up on an opponent like you've always done. Look, she's so much shorter!
Game two and we get a stirring passage of play. Sindhu inches ahead 3-0, whipping a forehand across court, a shot she has used to great advantage in the match so far. Okuhura urges her extended forearms to reach it but they can only go so far. And then, a sudden momentum change with the next five points going to the Japanese.
Indian people, boosted by the Sakshi Malik bronze on the night before, believe the wretched times in Rio are gone. The Japanese, as is their wont, are organised even as cheering squads. They co-ordinate the drum beats, the flag waving, the applause, heck - even the urgings from the stands. Yet again, like we haven't had this enough already, a gnawing tension crawls up the spine.
7-5. 7-6. 7-7. 9-8. 10-10.
A few minutes later Sindhu is talking to us. Ah yes, she wins the next 11 points at a stretch.
Think about that, slowly. Olympic semifinal. World number six. A neck and neck contest. And Sindhu wins 11 straight points. It is a manic finish, a storm of smashes that leave Okuhura gasping and rudderless. She is beaten well before she loses. The contest concludes with a snarling, murderous assault on the shuttle. 21-10.
Sindhu will leave these shores with a medal. She has beaten the little girl at the other end. It feels like she is 14 again.
So now onto Carolina Marin. The buccaneer from Spain who has raided her way atop the world rankings with a couple of seasons of high-pitched, gritty play. Left-handed and bursting with gumption, not unlike another racquet wielder from her country, Rafael Nadal, Marin has won the last two World championships.
She has not lost a game in her four matches in Rio so far and brushed aside 2012 Olympic champion Li Xureui, who picked up an injury towards the end of their match, 21-14, 21-16 in the semifinal.
Sindhu and Marin are not unfamiliar foes. They have clashed six times, with the Spaniard leading the head to head 4-2. However, it has been nearly a year since they come across each other and Marin will know that this is not the Sindhu she is accustomed to.
"It is going to be a good match, maybe Marin holds the edge in terms of the record," Gopichand says. "But it doesn't really matter. It is a big match and Sindhu has to stay her course and execute the plan. Marin being a left-hander doesn't matter, we will prepare accordingly."
Perhaps all Sindhu needs to do is be 14 again.