India's Star Badminton Player P.V. Sindhu Stays On Top Of Her Game

India’s silver star has been on the rise since her run at Rio 2016. Now, she’s one notch away from the top

- Amarnath K. Menon

When the Badminton World Federation (BWF) unveiled its weekly rankings on Thursday, April 6, P.V. Sindhu’s superlative showing gained global recognition. India’s star badminton player had moved up to No. 2 from No. 5.

That may seem like a small improvement, but it is not an easy climb. Sindhu has been toiling her way to the top ever since she took the world by storm in August last year, by reaching the badminton finals of the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the time, she returned home with the silver medal—the best Indian result in Olympic Badminton—having lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin in the finals. Since then, Sindhu has focused on her all-round game. She has already avenged her Olympic defeat—twice—by beating Marin in the BWF Super Series in Dubai last December, and before a home crowd at New Delhi’s Siri Fort Sports Complex on April 2 this year, winning her first Yonex India Open Super Series title in the process. At the end, it seemed a facile win. Facing match point, Marin, the current world and Olympic champion, netted a return. But when Sindhu raised her arms in the air and shouted in triumph, she vividly displayed the grit of a fighter.

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