Decoding the notable feats of Indian shuttler PV Sindhu
What's the story
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu will face Israel's Ksenia Polikarpova in the Group J clash of Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The world number seven enters the Games as one of India's medal hopefuls. In 2016, Sindhu scripted history by clinching a silver at the Rio Olympics. She would want to replicate the performance this time. Let us have a look at Sindhu's notable feats.
Record
First Indian player to win BWF World Championships gold
In 2019, Sindhu became the first Indian player to win a gold at the BWF World Championships. She accomplished the milestone after defeating Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in the summit clash. In the previous two editions, she had already won two silvers (in 2017 and 2018 respectively). This was Sindhu's fifth World Championships medal, joint-most for a woman singles player with Zhang Ning.
Information
Fastest player to achieve this feat
Sindhu had previously won two silver (2017, 2018) and two bronze medals (2013 and 2014) at the BWF Championships. She is the fastest player to claim five medals at the Championships, having played just six tournaments till date.
Feats
First Indian to win Korea Open
In the 2017 World Championships, Okuhara defeated Sindhu 21-19, 20-22, 22-20 in the final. The match ran for a total of 110 minutes, the longest final in the tournament's history. Overall, this was the second-longest women's singles match in the history of badminton. Later on, Sindhu became the first Indian to win Korea Open after defeating Okuhara in the final.
Information
A look her BWF stats
Sindhu has played a total of 492 matches (won 344 and lost 148) in singles category. In 2021, she owns a win-loss record of 10-6. The Indian shuttler has also won 14 and lost 10 doubles matches.
Olympics
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Will Sindhu go the extra mile?
Sindhu remains India's only badminton player to have won a silver medal at Olympics. She achieved the feat during the Rio 2016 Olympics. She lost the final to Spain's Carolina Marin. Saina Nehwal is the only other Indian singles player in the sport to win an Olympic medal (bronze, 2012). It remains to be seen if Sindhu can go the extra mile this time.