The golden girl of Indian badminton, 26-year-old Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is the country’s first and only sportswoman to win two Olympic medals. Born on July 5, 1995, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to ace volleyball players P V Ramana and P Vijaya, Sindhu’s love for sports came as no surprise. At the tender age of eight, she realised her love for badminton and with the support of her parents, she was able to pursue it. For 12 years, her father would wake her up at 3 am to take her to the sports academy–about 60 kilometres away–where she trained. A less known fact? Her father became the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2000 for his contribution to the sport of volleyball.
P. V. Sindhu’s badminton career
• Sindhu entered the international badminton circuit in 2009 when she was just 14 years old. She won a bronze medal in Colombo, Sri Lanka at the 2009 Sub-Junior Asian Badminton Championships and went on to win a silver medal in the singles category at the 2010 Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge.
• In 2011, she won the Maldives International Challenge as well as the Indonesia International Challenge. At the Dutch Open, she lost but then gained ground by winning the gold at the Swiss International. Later that year, she won the India International badminton tournament.
• In 2012, 16-year-old Sindhu reached the main draw at the All England Open Championships but lost the match. Later that year, she proceeded to make it to the semi-finals of the China Masters Super Series tournament but lost the finals there. The same year, she won the gold medal at the Asian Junior Championships.
• In 2014, she won her first Grand Prix Gold medal and was awarded the Arjun Award by the government of India.
• In her first Commonwealth Games (CWG) in 2014, PV Sindhu won bronze in women’s singles.
• In 2016, she bagged the silver medal at the Rio Olympics.
• At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, she won a silver and a gold medal in the singles and mixed team badminton events, respectively. She made history by achieving the feat as she was the youngest and first female individual to bag an Olympic Silver medal representing India.
• In the Tokyo Olympics, Sindhu landed a bronze medal for a third-place finish and today is the second athlete to have won two Olympic medals in post-Independence India.
P.V. Sindhu’s notable achievements
• Sindhu won a bronze in the Asian championship in 2014 and proceeded to win the silver medal four years later in 2018.
• She won a silver in the Rio Olympics in 2016 and claimed the title of the first-ever Indian woman to do so.
• In 2019, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win a gold at the Badminton World Federation World Championships in Basel, Switzerland.
• She went on to win a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
• On 23rd January 2022, she won the women's singles at the Syed Modi India International BWF Super 300 tournament in Lucknow.
P. V. Sindhu at the Olympics in 2021
At the Olympics in 2021, Sindhu was hailed as one of India’s greatest athletes of all time. She made a place for herself in history by sealing a bronze medal by beating China’s He Bingjiao. The 26-year-old was awarded the Padma Bhushan–India’s third highest civilian honour–for her iconic contribution to badminton. She even gained accolades from the President of India Ram Nath Kovind who tweeted, “She [P V Sindhu] has set a new yardstick of consistency, dedication, and excellence.”
Effect of P.V. Sindhu's Olympic heroics on India’s youth
Sindhu’s success story has helped inspire and empower women in India. She is considered to be a role model by the second most populous country’s youth and is lauded by the top sportspeople including ace rifle marksman Abhinav Bindra who praised her on her achievement of becoming the first woman player from the country to win two Olympic medals. He said it was a “rare accomplishment and the “next generation of athletes are lucky to have a role model like her.” Sindhu hopes to inspire India’s youngsters with her badminton achievements and said “I’m sure a lot of youngsters and others will get motivated to work hard and come up. If I can do it, everybody can do it.”
P.V. Sindhu's feelings after making history
After clinching a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, Sindhu was at a loss for words. She was quoted saying, “I mean, I still have no words. It’s such a proud moment for me, and to be able to win a medal again for India is just a fantastic feeling. And that feeling hasn’t fully sunk in yet. It’s the five years of my constant hard work, which have paid off. This will motivate me to achieve a lot more and work even harder.”
3 things we can all learn from P.V. Sindhu
1. Never say never: Sindhu is known for her never-say-die attitude. Before the Rio Olympics, she threw herself into practising day and night so much so that her coach had taken away her phone for three months so the ace athlete could prepare for her big day without any distractions.
2. Hard work always pays off: Her determination and dedication to making it pushed her to wake up early in the morning and train day after day. Going the extra mile for your passions is never a bad idea!
3. Adapt, improvise and overcome: Throughout her matches, Sindhu has changed her strategy and adapted it to ensure she does her best. The result? A two-time Olympic medallist. Her example is an inspiration for us all to never give up when life gets tough. Look at it from a different perspective and you will find a solution.
Conclusion
P.V. Sindhu’s journey is a great model of what giving something your all looks like. Leave nothing to chance, pick your battles and flight them well, cover all your bases and you will succeed. At the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that having a solid support system is essential for one to do their best in life. Teamwork makes the dream work!
FAQs
Are P.V. Sindhu’s parent's athletes?
Yes, they were both professional volleyball players.
Who inspired her to play sports?
Sindhu’s father is her inspiration.
Which Indian honours has Sindu been awarded?
She won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna–the highest sporting honor of India–in 2016 and the Padma Shri–the fourth highest civilian award of India–in 2015. She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2013 when she was just 18 as well as the Padma Bhushan in 2021.
Image source: Instagram.com/Pvsindhu