Courting Glory

Her tall frame, often clad in its trademark yellow outfit, holds the attention of spectators as she battles it out in national and international tourneys, her play often interspersed by expressive cries and pumping of fists. The quiet and shy PV Sindhu has, over the years, successfully morphed into an aggressive sportsperson who leaves nothing to chance. Shraddha Jahagirdar-Saxena air-dashes to Hyderabad to spend time with the badminton superstar, who, after Rio, has become the darling of the nation

- Shraddha Jahagirdar-Saxena

Scene One: the atmosphere is electric in the capital’s Siri Fort Sports Complex — as on a Friday evening in March, two Indian badminton superstars are battling it out in a much-watched quarter-final. Rhythmic chants, favouring both alternately, resound through its inner spaces. The match culminates in humungous applause when Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist, walks away with a win — leaving her opponent, Saina Nehwal, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, vanquished. The fact that it is the 21-year-old’s moment in the sun is further reinforced when the tall shuttler wins the India Open Super series tournament two days later, defeating her Rio nemesis, Carolina Marin, in the finals. Having seen her play live for the first time – and having witnessed her quieter side a short while earlier in her hometown — I am left with startling images of her metamorphosis into a focused, aggressive player — a quicksilver change that in the last 12 months has got her not just a coveted Olympic medal, but her maiden India Open Super series title — the Yonex Sunrise India Open 2017 — as well as the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold women’s singles title.