PV Sindhu: A ‘Never Say Die Attitude’ scripted the star-laden journey
This is the journey of a girl who at the age of 7 had the vision to lead India in Badminton. It is the story of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, focus, perseverance and perspiration that led to the success of PV Sindhu.
She has become the first Indian badminton player to win two medals at the Olympics and is the fourth woman to win a singles medal in consecutive Olympic Games.She is the reigning world champion, having won the title in 2019, after failing at the final hurdle in 2017 and 2018
Pusarla Venkata (P.V) was born to the former national level volleyball players P. V. Ramana and P. Vijayan in Hyderabad. Though her parents played professional volleyball, Sindhu chose badminton over it. Her inspiration came from the success of Pullela Gopichand, 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion.
A ‘Never Say Die Attitude’ scripted the star-laden journey
Starting at the age of 8, Sindhu won several titles.
- In the under-10 years’ category- 5th Servo All India ranking championship in the doubles category and the singles title at the Ambuja Cement All India ranking.
- In the under-13 years’ category- Singles title at the Sub-juniors in Pondicherry doubles titles at the Krishna Khaitan All India Tournament
- In the under-14 team- gold medal at the 51st National School Games in India.
- 2009 Sub-Junior Asian Badminton Championships in Colombo- Bronze medal
- 2010 Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge- Silver medal in the singles category
- 2012 Li Ning China Masters Super Series tournament – Semifinalist by defeating London 2012 Olympics gold medallist Li Xuerui of China
- 2013 World Badminton Championships- First ever Indian women’s singles player to win a medal
- 2017 BWF World Championships- Silver medalist
- Commonwealth Games 2018- Silver medalist in Women’s singles.
- 2019 World Championship – Gold
- 2020 Olympics – Silver
Success does not come easily but demands hardships, toils, sacrifice, and discipline. Who knows it better than PV Sindhu.
To reach this height of success, she has had a journey full of bruised knees and afternoons spent perfecting the backhand shot? She had put 12 years of rigorous routine. She had to travel a distance of 56 km daily from her residence to the coaching camp and she always reported on time. The hard work, dedication, and commitment to the dream have made PV Sindhu what she is today.
She didn’t use her cell phone for 3 months before Rio just to focus more on the sport. She had to give up her favorite delicacies- chocolates and ice- creams
What the Coach Gopichand has to say about Sindhu after the Rio Olympics victory
Gopi Chand tells: “The most striking feature in Sindhu’s game is her attitude and the never-say-die spirit.”
In another interview, he commented: “The final was very difficult and Sindhu was down with a cold. She was sweating and constantly wiping her nose. Credit to her for still putting up such a fight”.
What PV Sindhu says about herself
“Badminton is the real me, and whatever I am today is because of badminton. It’s not that I don’t have a personal life or anything, but badminton is my passion and I don’t regret it. If you want to achieve anything in life, you have to believe in yourself. It is very important.” A lesson for every on the journey fulfills his dreams.
