Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : August 8, 2022 3:17 PM IST
PV Sindhu after winning the bronze at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Badminton champion PV Sindhu showed a splendid performance at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and brought home a bronze medal. She is the only Indian woman to win two Olympic medals. She had won silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Wondering what the champion eats and what exercises she does to maintain her weight and keep herself fit, focussed and so energetic? Let's take a closer look at her diet and fitness routine.
For any upcoming competition, the athlete's diet plan is prepared a month in advance. Her food intake is well measured and monitored to keep the right balance between carbs and proteins. On a match day, her diet is calculated based on the match timing.
As revealed to media, Sindhu makes sure that her breakfast is loaded with proteins including milk and eggs, and fruits. In between her training sessions, she snacks on dry nuts and fruits to keep her fresh and energised. She also carries a bottle of Gatorade (energy drink).
Rice is one meal that she eats daily. For both lunch and dinner, she eats rice with some vegetables, sometimes with grilled chicken.
Her three go-to items are bananas, protein shake and snack bars. After an intense training session, she relies on snack bars that help replenish her energy.
She gets her blood test done every two months to monitor her vitals, and accordingly her diet is tweaked. Although she likes junk food and sweets, she avoids them completely when she is preparing for a tournament. If allowed or when not preparing for a match or after getting back from a tournament, she likes to gorge on fast food like cakes, pastries, ice cream. Sometimes, she also takes a day off once a month from her prescribed diet and Hyderabadi biryani is always on her list of cheat meals.
Not only her diet, but Sindhu's workout sessions are also planned a month before a tournament. Her pre-match workout mainly focuses on the back, abdomen, shoulders and knees. On the matchday, she performs exercises that help her body warm up, without tiring her too uch.
She never skips pre-workout stretching as it helps prepare the body for intensive sessions. Sindhu also ensures to cool down her body after a strenuous session. This is important to stabilise the heart rate and clear the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles. Keeping hydrated while exercising is another thing that she wants people to take note.
She loves doing Cardio the most, but her workout routine also often includes high-endurance workouts, sit-ups (200), push-ups (100), as well as yoga and swimming.
Usually, her training session starts at 7a.m. and continues till 12 noon. Then at 4 pm, she starts her endurance training before finishing her day at 7 pm. By 8 pm she will have her dinner and go to bed by 9 pm.
Check out a few clips of her workout sessions:
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Diet is very important for athletes and so they must avoid unhealthy stuffs to keep themselves fit, especially when they are preparing for a big game like the Olympics. But enjoying your favourite food after the win could be a heavenly experience.
Speaking to PM Modi earlier, PV Sindhu had revealed that she could not eat ice cream too often due to her preparations for the Olympics. After her medal win, Modi had promised that he would eat her favourite ice-cream with her upon her return. The PM has fulfilled his promise during a breakfast interaction with Olympic athletes. See it to believe it:
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The PM also enjoyed some Churma with Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra. The javelin expert had earlier in an interview confessed his love for pani puri and sweet homemade Churma. Because the desert has a lot of ghee and sugar, the athlete couldn't have it during the training for the game.
