P is for none other than (P)V. Sindhu the youth icon who made India proud at the Olympics – #BlogchatterAtoZ #AtoZChallenge 2019
Image Courtesy: Wikipedia.org
I have already written about Saina Nehwal, the Olympic bronze medallist from India. As everyone is aware India has produced another swashbuckling star in the sport of Badminton. This is none other than Pusarla Venkata Sindhu or PV Sindhu. And today, for the letter ‘P’ of A to Z 2019, I present to you the inspiring story of this young champion. Sindhu was born on 5, July 1995 in Hyderabad. Her father is PV Ramana who was a member of the Indian Volleyball team that won the Bronze medal in the 1986 Seoul Olympics. Her mother P. Vijaya was also a national level volleyball player.
Though both her parents were Volleyball players, Sindhu drew inspiration from the success of Pullela Gopichand and chose Badminton. She started playing Badminton at the age of eight. She learned the basics of the game from Mehboob Ali. Later she joined Gopichand’s Badminton Academy. After joining Gopichand’s academy Sindhu won several titles. Her first wins include the 5th Servo All India ranking championship in the doubles category in the under-10 years’ circuit.
Later she won the singles title in the Ambuja Cement All India ranking. In the under-13 years’ category, Sindhu won the singles title among the Sub-juniors which was held at Pondicherry. She also won the Krishna Khaitan All India Tournament doubles title and the Sub-Junior Nationals. In the under-14 category, she won the team gold medal at the 51st National State Games in India.
Coming to the international circuit, she lost to Germany’s Juliane Schenk in the Indonesia Open on 14, June 2012. But on 7, July 2012 she won the Asian Youths Under 19 Championship beating Japanese player Nazomi Okuhara 18-21, 21-17, 22-20. She beat London 2012 Olympics Gold Medallist Li Xuerui in the Li Ning China Masters Super Series tournament to enter the semifinals but then lost to the 4th seeded Jiang Yanjiao of China. Her exploits in the China Open led people to expect a lot from her in the Japan Open but she bowed out in the 2nd round losing to Korea Bae Yeon Ju.
She then participated in the 77th Senior National Badminton Championships at Srinagar but was defeated in the finals by Sayali Gokhale. Actually, Sindhu had injured her knee in the China Open and she had been carrying on with it. She then skipped the World Junior Championships in order to avoid aggravating her injury. She then participated in the Syed Modi India Grand Prix Gold event and reached the finals without dropping a single set, but lost in the finals to the Indonesian Linda Weni Fanetri. Her ranking at this stage was 15.
In the year 2013, She won the Malaysian Open which was her first Grand Prix Gold Title. In the final, she beat the Singaporean Gu Juan. In the BWF World Championships of 2013, Sindhu defeated the defending champion Wang Yihan of China to enter the quarter-finals. The 18-year-old Sindhu then proceeded to win 21-18, 23-21 in 54 minutes to set up a final with Chinese Wing Shixian. She beat Wing Shixian 21-18, 21-17 to become India’s first medallist in the women’s circuit at the world championships.
She also won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title defeating Canada’s Michelle Li 21-15, 21-12 in 37 minutes. Sindhu was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2013. Sindhu lost to Canadian Michelle Li in the semifinal of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She later created history by winning two back-to-back medals in the BWF World Badminton Championships after she had won the Bronze medal in the 2014 BWF World Championships in Denmark.
In the year 2015 Sindhu defended her Macau Open title and this was the third successive Macau Open win for her. The year 2016 was a historic year for PV Sindhu and India. In January of that year, Sindhu won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold women’s singles by beating Kirsty Gilmour in the final. She had won this tournament in 2013 also. In August 2016, Rio Summer Olympics, Sindhu reached the semifinal of the women’s singles event defeating Wang Yihan of China.
She then defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the women’s singles semifinals. She lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin thus winning the Silver Medal in the Rio Olympics thus becoming the youngest and first female individual to bag an Olympic Silver medal representing India. This was the second instance of a podium finish at the Olympics by any Indian badminton player. Later she avenged her defeat to Carolina Marin by defeating her in the India Open Superseries to clinch the title.
In 2018, she made it to the top 4 in the prestigious All England Open. She lost to world No 3 Akane Yamaguchi in the semifinal. This incidentally is Sindhu’s best performance at the All England Open. Sindhu then competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast and won a gold in the mixed team event and a silver medal in the women’s singles event. In the 2018 World Championships, Sindhu won her second consecutive silver medal totalling four silver medals in all.
She clinched the silver medal in the 2018 Asian games by defeating the world no 1 Tai Tsu-Ying in Jakarta thus becoming the first Indian to finish second on the podium in the Asian games. She created history in December 2018 by becoming the first Indian to win the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals tournament held in China.
In the Premier Badminton League auctions of 2018 Sindhu was bought by Hyderabad Hunters and was made the skipper of the team. The team reached the semifinals where they lost to Mumbai Rockets. In the Indonesian Open 2019, Sindhu lost in the quarterfinals to Carolina Marin. She lost in the first round in the All England Open 2019 and this tournament has been the stumbling block in Sindhu’s career.
Sindhu was awarded the Padma Shri which is the fourth highest civilian award in India in March, 215. She received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award on 29, August 2016. She was awarded the Arjuna award in 2013. I hope you enjoyed reading about PV Sindhu who is a youth icon and a star for all Indians, especially the young women of India. She is an inspiration to many a young girl who wants to make a name for herself. Tomorrow I will be back with the life story of yet another sports person.
Tags – #BlogchatterAtoZ 2019 #AtoZChallenge 2019
Sindhu is another inspiration to women in the country who want to take up sports as a profession. She's also a very humble and down to earth person. Gopichand indeed has brought out the best in both Saina and Sindhu.
I love to see her play she is such a fine player.
She is fortunate that she has 'sporting'parents.
A tall lanky player, PVS, is a real treat to the yes to watch. She richly deserves the Padma Shri, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Arjuna award. She is a youth icon for India.
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Definitely a youth icon and I was happy seeing her in multiple endorsements as mostly only cricket players in India used to get such deals before
She is definitely a role model.
Ruchi https://thevagabond.me/
Yes, Sonia. She is indeed another sterling example like Sain Nehwal. Gopichand is indeed a great coach.
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Yes, someone to emulate for all the youngsters of the country. Thanks for visiting.
Yes, It was only after the emergence of sports persons in diverse fields that at least a speed breaker has been applied to the domination of cricketers
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After Saina it had to be Sindhu. Its great how she is taking the good work of her predecessors ahead. Nice detailed post Sir.
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Yes, Manas, how could I omit Sindhu! Thanks for visiting.
Gopichand proved that he can find the best gems in Tennis sport. Sindhu proved herself at the very young age. India look forward to watch more sports by P.V.Sindhu.
An inspiration indeed. Many young girls look up to her. Gopichand is a gem too. Loved reading this detailed post.
She is a great player indeed. I enjoyed many tournaments but the match between Saina and Sindhu was very interesting to watch.
Saina and PV Sindhu both are an inspiration to the youth of our country to pursue sports as a career. Love her grounded attitude. Lovely post Jai. It is always good to read your posts and know closely about the sportsperson you admire.
Yes Gopichand has brought out some talented gems. Thanks for visiting.
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Yes matches between Saina and Sindhu are memorable indeed. Thanks for visiting.
Thanks for visiting Vartika.
I used to always wonder who would take over if Sania retired. Sindhu is the answer. Her growth has been phenomenal and she is the perfect role model for little girls everywhere.
Yes. It is a really close call between saina and sindhu when it comes to the question of who is the better player. Thanks for visiting.
She is another gem of a lady who is really grounded. I think the Gopichand academy students are like this only.
Yes, Gopichand seems to have the ability to churn out some excellent talent. Thanks for visiting.