P.V Sindhu has proven yet again why she is the ace shuttler of India. She is the perfect example to never lose the spirit and strike harder if life puts you down. After losing to World number one Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-finals, Sindhu was disheartened but had a determined mind to win the bronze medal. Coming home with the bronze medal, Sindhu stood on the hopes and expectations of the entire nation.
P.V Sindhu: Queen of many Firsts
Sindhu is also the queen of many firsts as she is the first Indian badminton player to earn a silver medal at the Olympics; she is the first Indian to win a medal at the World Championships championship and also the first to win the World Tour Final. And now she is the first Indian female to have claimed 2 Olympic medals to her name. She is also only the third Indian athlete to earn two individual Olympic medals (after Norman Pritchard in 1900 and Sushil Kumar in 2008 and 2012), as well as the second Indian athlete to win medals in consecutive Olympic seasons. The 26-year-old P.V Sindhu is a symbol of women’s power that shows the values of hard work, courage, and determination.
Early Years
Born on 5 July 1995 in Hyderabad to P.V Ramana and Vijaya, Sindhu had an interest in the sport from a very early age. Sindhu, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, started playing badminton when she was 8 years old. Sindhu’s parents have both competed at the national level in volleyball. Ramana, her father, was a member of the Indian men’s volleyball team that won bronze in the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. He has also received the Arjuna award.
Her Journey and Achievements
Sindhu is arguably one of the best athletes India has produced. She started her journey and path towards glory when she was eight years old and went on to the Pullela Gopichand Academy for professional training for badminton. Gopichand played an important role in moulding Sindhu’s career and took her to the Rio Olympics, 2016. Sindhu is currently being coached by South Korean Park Tae Sang. In the under-13 division, she made her first breakthrough by winning the doubles championships at the Sub-Junior Nationals and the All India Ranking in Pune. Continuing with her zeal, Sindhu made a strong start in badminton by earning a bronze medal at the sub-junior Asian Badminton Championships in 2009, which marked her international debut. Sindhu achieved a career-high world rating of 2 in April 2007. In September 2012, at the age of 17, she had broken into the top 20 in the global rankings. She was awarded the highest honour given to any sportsperson in India, the Arjuna Award in 2013. After her historic win at the Rio Olympics 2016, she received India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri Award.
With the world ranking of 7 now, Sindhu’s list of achievements is endless. Listed below are some of her major achievements:
• 2019 World Championships gold medal
• 2016 Rio Olympics silver medal
• Two silver and two bronze medals at the World Championships
• Asian Games – Individual silver (2018) & Team bronze (2014)
• Commonwealth Games – Mixed team gold (2018) & Individual silver (2018) and bronze (2014)
The Tokyo Olympics 2020
P.V Sindhu was India’s biggest hope at these Olympic games and she stood on it victoriously. The semi-final defeat against Tai Tzu Ying did not hold her back for long. On Sunday, 1 August 2021, Sindhu crushed 8th seeded Chinese shuttler He Bing Jiao in the bronze medal match, winning in straight games 21-13, 21-15. On the court, Sindhu appeared to be considerably more confident than Jiao. Sindhu used her whole arsenal of strokes against her Chinese opponent, from netplay to drop drops to some stunning cross-court and body smashes.
Sindhu has had ups and downs in her career but her sportsmanship, love for the sport and determination always back her up and each time she would come back stronger than ever. And this time she brought the bronze medal back home with her making the entire country rejoice with happiness and glory.