P.V. Sindhu, Sportsperson Of The Year

A Dream Run at the 2016 Olympics was followed by major successes on the International tour, making Sindhu the unanimous choice for the sportsperson of the Year award

- Priyanka Sharma

Barely a month before Saina Nehwal’s bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics sent the entire nation into raptures, a 17-year-old shuttler created ripples on the junior international circuit. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, a shy 5'11'' teenager from Hyderabad, won the Badminton Asia Youth Under-19 Championships title—it was India’s first junior Asian Championships title since Gautam Thakkar’s victory in 1965.

Four years later, at the Rio Olympics, she did it again. This time her achievement changed her life, and the country’s badminton landscape. Indian badminton scaled dizzying heights when Sindhu gifted the sport its brightest medal ever—an Olympic silver. A more mature player since her Asian success, she went down fighting to reigning world No. 1 Carolina Marin 21–19, 12–21, 15–21 yet the loss in the final brought plenty of cheer to 1.3 billion people, who till then had just one bronze to celebrate at the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza.

The medal also served as inspiration to Indian women athletes aspiring to strike it big in their careers. The biggest impact of Sindhu’s Olympics performance was that it changed the nation’s perspective towards women in sport. She earned plenty of awards and accolades for her achievement (cash awards of approximately ₹13.5 crore, besides land grants, job offers and a lengthy list of sponsors).

Similarly, wrestler Sakshi Malik, who won bronze in the women’s freestyle 58kg, yet another first in the sport for India, too was feted and applauded. And who can forget the brave heart performance of Dipa Karmakar, who single handedly took gymnastics into the living rooms of millions. But it was Sindhu’s performance that undoubtedly remains the crowning glory of India’s women athletes in the 2016 Olympics.