Bold, brilliant yet storms across the badminton court with a blistering pace, shimmies down the track for terrifying smashes only to outsmart the opponent like a hot knife through butter is PV Sindhu’s ideology. Ever since P.V. Sindhu arrived to face the competitors in the court, things have gone down too well for her.
Much to her concrete determination and winning mentality, she has gone places. After all, giving enough of fruitful endeavours, the results that she got in return was palpable. Badminton sport got a great deal of recognition after cricket in India in the wake of P.V. Sindhu’s aggression came to the fore.
In fact, she is the first Indian to become the Badminton World Champion and she broke into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking in September 2012 when she was only 17 years old. Starting her career in 2013, Pusarla won a medal at every world championships except in 2015.
She is just the second woman after Zhang Ning to bag five or more medals at the world championships. Pusarla featured for India at the 2016 Summer Olympics and thus becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach a final. She bagged the silver medal after losing out to Spain’s Carolina Marin.
Pusarla clinched her first superseries title at the 2016 China Open and then she followed it up with four more finals in 2017. She won titles in South Korea and India. Furthermore, she has won a silver medal each at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games, and two bronze medals at the Uber Cup.
With massive earnings of US$8.5 and $5.5 million respectively, Pusarla made the Forbes’ list of Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2018 and 2019.
PV Sindhu wins BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2019
India’s champion shuttler PV Sindhu clinched the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2019. The reigning world champion also feels that more women will win medals for the country in future.
“My message to all young sportswomen is that as women, we have to believe in ourselves. I’m sure soon there will be more Indian sportswomen winning medals for the country,” the 24-year-old PV Sindhu said after winning the award on the International Women’s Day.
The Olympic silver medallist said she would like to dedicate this accolade to her supporters and fans who supported her all along. “I would like to dedicate this award to my supporters and fans that have supported me all along. Awards like BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year give us motivation and encouragement to go much further.”
She has won five world championship medals to her name and is also the first Indian singles badminton player to win an Olympic silver medal. She entered into the top 20 of the BWF World rankings in September 2012 at the age of 17 and has remained in the top 10 throughout the last four years.
Let’s take a look at the amazing facts and achievements of PV Sindhu
1. P.V. Sindhu was born on July 5, 1995, to P.V. Ramana and P. Vijaya in Hyderabad. What really adds up to the fact that she has managed to pull off such great things in life at such a young age.
2. P.V Sindhu’s full name is “Pursala Venkata Sindhu” and her name is so famous that any sports fanatic would be pleased to tell the positives on her. Her name speaks everything and such is the reputation and legacy, she has built so far.
3. Transforming the hobby to an ultimate dream is the path to success. P.V. Sindhu started playing Badminton at the age of 8 and the rest is history. She has not only made the entire nation proud by inking her exuberance but also shed light to Indian parents to make their daughters scrutinise on this sport.
4. Without ‘inspiration’, the route to success is certainly beyond the bounds of possibility. For P.V. Sindhu, the greatest ever inspiration is Pullela Gopichand who is none other than the former Badminton stalwart.
5. P.V. Sindhu created history when she became the first Indian women to clinch Olympic Silver Medal at the 2016 Olympics. She defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the semifinals to make way into the Olympic finals.
6. In a crepuscular setting, she used to travel 27 km to spice it up the training at 4.00 am and this goes to show how dedicated she is and her quest to inflate the career on a high has landed so far so good.
7. P.V. Sindhu’s father and mother both played volleyball and they are professional volleyball players. Her father P.V Ramana was awarded ‘Arjuna Award for his sheer brilliance in volleyball.
8. Doing great and memorable things in life often lead to desirable outcomes. PV Sindhu was honoured with Padma Bhushan Award, the third-highest civilian award in India, in January 2020. She was felicitated with Padma Shri Award, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in March 2015. She was bestowed with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour of India, on 29 August 2016. She was honoured with Arjuna Award for badminton on 24 September 2013.
9. She is also the first Indian women to clinch a bronze medal in women’s singles category at the iconic World Championship in 2013. She clinched Macau Open Grand Prix Open three successive times on the trot and won an Arjuna award at the age of 18.
10. Under the complete guidance of her inspiration, Pullela Gopichand even now, getting into the scheme of things was as easy as a cakewalk for her. Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad saw the meteoric rise of Sindhu.