PV Sindhu is poised to make India proud this Olympics
After a tough draw, PV Sindhu has reached the semi-finals at the Rio Olympics. Photo: Reuters
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu on Tuesday beat the 2012 Olympic silver medallist and World number 2 to reach the Women's Badminton semi-finals in the Rio Olympics. She's our only medal hope left, and with a nation on edge, the question on everyone's mind is, can she do it?
A 2008 profile of then 13-year-old Pusarla Venkata Sindhu marvels at the fact that the budding star even makes it to her practice everyday.
PV Sindhu would travel 56km from her residence to practise. She was never late as she hated being away from the sport.
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| PV sindhu in 2013. Photo: PTI |
The young shuttler had started turning heads in 2007 and being mentored by one of India's greatest badminton players, Pullela Gopichand.
Interestingly, her parents had been successful volleyball players - her father has been conferred the Arjuna Award. Sindhu chose badminton only after her parents told her about Gopichand's greatness.
Man, India has a lot to thank him for.
In a 2010 profile about his protege, Gopi speaks about what makes Sindhu great.
"The most striking feature in Sindhu's game is her attitude and the never-say-die spirit. She has her feet on the ground and stresses that she is too young and can still wait for things to fall in place."
In hindsight, this is key because in a country like India, where we worship icons, for Sindhu to put her down and keep working, waiting while Saina Nehwal was just hitting her peak, shows remarkable maturity. Her mental make-up, in addition to the pedigree she inherited, sets her up to be the perfect pick-up-the-pieces, waiting-in-the-background candidate.
Her rise in the world of badminton has been steady, with coaches holding her back till 2013 to compete for major senior titles. She has been steady there too, getting better with each game.
In 2014, she made history by becoming the first Indian to win two back-to-back medals in the World Badminton Championships. In 2015, she won her third successive women's singles title at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold.
In 2016, when Saina was struck by injury, India needed a pick-up and in stepped Sindhu. She came in and beat Chinese shuttler Wang Yihan, the 2012 Olympic silver medallist and World no 2 in an incredible show of stamina and composure.
The tough draw, the pressure, was nothing for Sindhu. She's waited for this. She's prepared for years. She's ready for her moment in the sun.