Don’t Fear The Obstacles in the Pursuit of Your Dreams: P v Sindhu

“Your dreams are what define your individuality. They have the power to give you wings and make you fly high.” P V Sindhu

P V Sindhu has won not only the World Badminton championship but also the hearts of Indians who are hailing her as the new youth icon of the country. She has proved it once again that there’s nothing impossible in this world if you keep working towards it. She is the representative of modern Indian young women who dare to dream, believe and succeed. Pusarla Venkata (PV) Sindhu by winning the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships, became the first Indian ever to become a world champion in badminton. She made her international debut in 2009 and rose to no. 2 rank in April 2017. In her career, Sindhu has won medals at several tournaments on the BWF circuit, including a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal and the first Indian to reach the Olympic final in badminton.

PV Sindhu became famous when she broke into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking in September 2012 at the age of 17. Beginning in 2013, Sindhu won a medal at every world championships, except in 2015. She is among very few players to have won a medal of every colour at the BWF World Championships. Sindhu also won a silver medal each at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games. In 2018, Sindhu became the first Indian to win the prestigious World Tour Finals.

“You win some and lose some. It’s all part of the game. You have to take it in a very positive way.” P V Sindhu

With earnings of $5.5 million, Sindhu came in the Forbes’ list of Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2019. She is the recipient of the Indian sports honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, and India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.

P V Sindhu was born in South Indian city Hyderabad to P. V. Ramana and P. Vijaya. Her mother and father have been national-level volleyball players. Though her parents played professional volleyball, Sindhu chose badminton because she was inspired by the success of badminton star Pullela Gopichand, 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion. She started playing badminton at the young age of eight. She joined Gopichand’s badminton academy and soon won several titles. In the under-10 years’ category, she won the 5th Servo All India ranking championship in the doubles category.

“The fact that she reports on time at the coaching camps daily, traveling a distance of 56 km from her residence, is perhaps a reflection of her willingness to complete her desire to be a good badminton player with the required hard work and commitment.”

The Hindu

In the international sports, Sindhu was a bronze medalist at the 2009 Sub-Junior Asian Badminton Championships in Colombo. She won the silver medal in the singles category at the 2010 Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge. Sindhu also reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 Junior World Badminton Championships that was held in Mexico.

P V Sindhu won Malaysian open title 2013. In 2014 Sindhu created history by becoming the first Indian to win two back-to-back medals in the BWF World Badminton Championships after winning a bronze medal in 2014 BWF World Championships in Denmark. In 2015, defending champion Sindhu won her third successive women’s singles title at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold. In 2016, Sindhu won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold women’s singles title. In 2017 the India Open Superseries, Sindhu won the title and achieved a career-high world ranking of number 2. In 2018 Sindhu created history by becoming the first Indian to win the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals. She won the title without losing a single match in the group stage. By winning the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships, Sindhu became the first Indian ever to become a world champion in badminton.

“There will be many obstacles in the pursuit of your dreams. I had long hours of training, balancing studies and badminton.” P V Sindhu