PV Sindhu is a name that needs no introduction- a badminton star player. Sindhu is one of just two Indian badminton players to have won an Olympic medal, the other being Saina Nehwal, who was born on July 5, 1995, in Hyderabad. She is also the first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the Olympics.
The ace shuttler initially received international recognition when, at the age of 17, she climbed into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking, and has remained in the top 10 for the most of her professional career.
Sindhu turns 26 today. On the special occasion of her birthday, let us take a look at her major wins on the international courts:Malaysian Open Title 2013 – Gold
Sindhu made a tremendous transition from a young prodigy to one of the best shuttlers in the world by winning her first Grand Prix title in Malaysia.
Guangzhou World Championship 2013 – Bronze
In China, Sindhu made the entire world sit up and take notice of her. Sindhu defeated 2012 Olympic silver winner Wang Yihan to capture the bronze medal at the BWF World Championship in Guangzhou. Sindhu also created history by being the first Indian shuttler to win a singles medal at the World Championships.
Sindhu was in fine form in Odense, advancing to the final by defeating Wang Yihan in the quarterfinals and Carolina Marin in the semis. In the final, Li Xuerui defeated Sindhu in straight games, but her journey to the top was spectacular.
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Rio Olympics 2016 – Silver
Sindhu's career pinnacle also happened to be the apex in Indian badminton history. Her exceptional talent led to new stardom with a silver medal performance at the Rio Olympics. Although she fell at the penultimate hurdle, her second-place finish was one better than India's best in the 116-year history of the event.
Sindhu won her first India Open 2017 Superseries championship by defeating Marin in straight games, avenging her loss at the Rio Olympics. Marin, on the other hand, wasn't the first big name to fall in front of Sindhu during the event. Sindhu advanced to the finals after defeating 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal in the quarterfinals and world number two Sung Ji Hyun in the semi-finals en route to her title win.
BWF World Championships 2019 – Gold
On August 25, 2019, Sindhu became the first Indian to win the BWF World Championships, smashing Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in a one-sided final in just 36 minutes.