PV Sindhu
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The authorship of this page
The Times of India 2013/08/10
The Times of India, May 9, 2015
Manne Ratnakar The Times of India, Oct 19 2015
The Times of India, November 30, 2015
Prasanna Venkatesan, The Hindu December 10, 2015
Early life
Height: 1.79 m
College: St. Ann's College for Women
Parents: P. V. Ramana, P. Vijaya
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu was born (on July 5, 1995) into a family of volleyball players — her father PV Ramana captained the Indian volleyball team and her mother Vijaya too was a national-level player — Sindhu got attracted to badminton when Gopi won the All England championships in 2001. Though volleyball was what they talked about at home, Sindhu was inspired by Gopi and when she expressed her desire to play badminton her parents encouraged her. Inspired by her iconic mentor, Pullela Gopichand’s exploits on court, she started wielding the racquet at the age of eight.
Since then she has been training at the Pullela Gopichand Academy
Her struggles started once she joined the Gopichand Academy. She lived at the Railway Colony in Secunderabad and had to travel about 40 km everyday to reach the academy at the other end of town. However, Sindhu never missed a session. Realising that travel made her weary, Gopi advised her father to shift home.
Ramana obliged and now it was his turn to travel 40 km to work. But he was confident that under Gopi’s tutelage his daughter would blossom.
Her indomitable spirit has always been the most talked about feature of her game. “The most striking feature of Sindhu’s game is her attitude and never-say-die spirit,” remarked her coach.
Career progression
In 2012 at the London Olympics Sindhu was ranked World No. 25. She broke into the Top 20 in 2012. She attained her highest career ranking of 9 in 2014. In Aug 2016, during the Rio Olympics, she was ranked no. 10 in the world.
2009-10: Early victories
Sindhu justified the faith by winning a bronze at the sub-junior Asian Badminton Championships in 2009. The next year she reached the quarters of the World Junior Championships.
She was a team member of the Indian squad in Uber Cup in 2010.
2012
She won the Asian youth under-19 championship in July 2012.
Sindhu made the world sit up and take notice when she stunned Olympic champion Li Xuerui at the Chinese Masters in Changzhou a month the Chinese superstar became the Olympic champion in 2012.
Sindhu claimed her first major international title by clinching the Malaysian Grand Prix gold in May.
2013/ Dragon slayer, giant killer
She followed up that good work by dethroning world champion Wang Yihan in 2013.
In Sindhu’s case, 2013 turned out to be significant. She won her maiden grand prix gold at the Malaysian Open, created the aforementioned Indian record in the World championships held at Guangzhou and went on to win the first of her hat-trick of titles at the Macau Open.
A reward in the form of Arjuna award was the icing on the cake.
Chinese shuttlers are almost invincible on home turf but Pusarla Venkata Sindhu tamed them twice in Aug 2013 and thrice 2012-13.
The 18-year-old then hit a rough patch but recovered to down reigning Asian Games gold medallist and former All England champion Shixian Wang at the Asian Badminton Championships in April 2013. On Thursday, she dethroned world champ Wang Yihan before extending her career record against Shixian to 2-0 on Friday.
Sindhu has dominated twotime All-England champion Shixian Wang, beating her four times in six meetings (till 2016).
2013: Historic wins and a defeat
Her victory against Shixian in Aug 2013 ensured her a bronze at the Worlds, a feat never achieved by any Indian woman in singles.
Sindhu faced Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in the semifinal. Like the Indian, Ratchanok too was 18 and had developed a reputation of being a giantkiller.
Pre- semifinal RANKING: PV Sindhu (Ind): 12 Ratchanok Intanon (Tha): 3
Pre- semifinal Head To Head: 0-1
2014
PV Sindhu reached the semifinal stage of Glasgow Commonwealth Games in the women’s singles competition.
She was given FICCI Breakthrough Sportsperson of the Year in 2014
Saina Nehwal clinched the China Open (top spot) (PTI |PV Sindhu wins maiden China Open Super Series title, Nov 20, 2016)
2015
Sindhu was just nineteen but had already won two bronze medals in the World Championships -afeat no other Indian has been able to manage thus far -and is fast catching up with her illustrious senior, world No. 2 Saina Nehwal.
In 2015 playing at the Denmark Open, Sindhu reached to her maiden final of a Super Series event.
In March 2015, P.V. Sindhu became the youngest recipient of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour.
2015, Denmark Open: reaches finals, loses
Sindhu beat Carolina Marin, the world No 1, 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 across 72 minutes, her first win over the Spaniard in four outings.
Sindhu reached her maiden Super Series final
Sindhu falters at final hurdle
Olympic champion Li Xuerui ended the dream run of PV Sindhu 21-19, 21-12 in the final of the Denmark Open Superseries Premier in Odense on Sunday .The 20-year-old Indian failed to stop the resurgent former world No.1 in the 47-minute battle. Sindhu, who demolished three top rankers including the reigning world champion Carolina Marin in the last three days, looked good when she led 16-10 in the first game.
It was here the lanky shuttler committed three net faults allowing Xuerui to make a comeback. The experienced Xuerui seized the opportunity .Sindhu should have varied her attack here. Rather than continuing in the smashing mode, the unseeded Indian should have tried the half smashes. Xuerui, who is the defending champion, first reduced the lead to 13-16 and then with another five-point burst went ahead to 18-17.
At 18-20, Sindhu saved a game point to move to 19-20. It was here Sindhu made the biggest error of the match when she misjudged the line call.
2015: Wins Grand Prix, Macau
PV Sindhu extended her unbeaten reign in Macau and achieved a rare hat-trick at the $120,000 Grand Prix Gold tournament with a convincing 21-19, 2123, 21-14 victory against MinatsuMitani of Japan in the final. The 20-year-old, who lost al most half of 2015 to a heel injury, not only ended her title drought but also brought cheer to the Indian ranks, starved as they have been for titles in the last six months. Sindhu's victory at the former Portuguese colony is the best performance by an Indian shuttler after the twin title triumphs of SainaNehwal and Kidambi Srikanth at the India Open Super series in March 2015.
Interestingly, it was during the period of Macau Open in 2014 that Sindhu had suffered a navicular stress fracture on her left foot. Unfortunately, the injury , which was very difficult to identify , was not diagnosed for about two months. It was during the Nationals at Vijayawada that a scan revealed the fracture.
2016
In early 2016 Sindhu displayed middling form, which saw her exit a few tournaments at the quarter-final stage. The only title she won in 2016 was the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold, where she beat Scotland's Kristy Gilmour 21-15, 21-9. She was runner up to her compatriot Gadde Ruthvika Shivani in the South Asian Games, her second best result.
2016, Sindhu won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold women’s singles title.
She registered an Olympics berth after the BWF world rankings were released in May
Historic success at the Rio Olympics
However, in August Pusarla Venkata Sindhu became the first Indian, male or female, to enter an Olympic Badminton final, after defeating 6th-ranked Nozomi Okuhara 2-0 (21-19, 21-10)
The route to the finals PV Sindhu marked the start with a facile win in the women's individual competition. She brushed aside her opponent Laura Sarosi of Hungary 21-8, 21-9, starting off on a superb note and managing to hold onto the advantage.
Sindhu entered the pre-quarters with a gruelling 72-minute win over Canada's Michelle Li 21-19, 21-15
Quarter finals She then had a very tough match against the world No 2 and London Olympics silver medalist Wang Yihan of China. Sindhu trailed by 10-12 and was later 20-20 but maintained her calm to win two points and take an intense first game. In the end, she beat Yihan - seven years older than she - 22-20, 21-19 to become the second Indian after Saina Nehwal to reach the last four at the Olympics.
In the semi-finals she beat Japan's Nozomi Okuhara - ranked sixth in the world - in straight sets 21-19, 21-10, spanning 51 minutes.
In the semi-finals she beat Japan's Nozomi Okuhara - ranked sixth in the world - in straight sets 21-19, 21-10, spanning 51 minutes.
Sindhu dominated the first game with some beautiful backhand flicks and cross-court smashes. The initial exchanges were close, as underlined by margins of 5-3, 6-4 and 7-4, but as the game progressed Sindhu's stamina and strength came to the fore. A fierce smash down the left side of her opponent's court set up a five-point advantage. Repeatedly pushed back, and twice falling to the floor, Okuhara had a few tough moments but still rallied to make it 13-15 before an error in judgement in front of the net put Sindhu three points ahead. The Japanese shuttler did not buckle, to her credit, but was struggling by the time the first game ended 21-19 in Sindhu's favour after 27 minutes.
The 21-year-old made a jittery start to the second game, down 3-5 in the first few minutes. A terrific smash right into the centre of the court leveled it 5-5, and then a beautiful smash angled across Okuhara made it 7-6. Okuhara didn't buckle, which meant that the second game was far more intense than the first. Serve after serve, return after return, smash after smash, Sindhu and Okuhara went at it, adding to the allure of a riveting contest. This was sport at its best, neither opponent ready to concede an inch but in the end, Sindhu rose too far beyond Okhura.
At times she glided the shuttle off her racquet, either across the court or just over the next, with deftness; then, suddenly, she smashed it with a ferocity as unexpected as thunder on a sunny afternoon. When she fell behind, she fought back, her shots resulting in advances of at times thundering ferocity across the canvas of the badminton court. This was wristy magic, delivered with high arms while her long legs remained symmetrical in motion. Some points won were not just through flicks of the wrist, but with the grace of sensual sinews. When she nailed the winning smash, making it 21-10, Sindhu let out a roar. And India jumped to its feet. (Jamie Alter | TNN | Aug 18, 2016)
THE HISTORIC FINALS
Sindhu, tenth in the global rankings, lost to Spain's Carolina Marin, ranked No 1, 21-12, 12-21, 15-21 to settle for silver.
Sindhu had rallied superbly to come back from 6-11 and win the first game, to the delight of her nation, but it needed something far greater to beat a champion like Marin, who has done more for Spanish badminton than Rafael Nadal has for tennis.
Sindhu had had with five wins in a row, the last two of which came over the world No 2 and No 5 respectively. On the biggest day of her career, Sindhu never stopped fighting and has won the biggest prize in the history of Indian badminton - an Olympic silver, to go past Saina Nehwal's bronze four years ago in London.
Sindhu struggled during the initial exchanges, in particular against some lovely drop shots from the left-hander. Down 3-7, then 5-8 and 5-9, then 10-13. There was Sindhu for a period, at once on her knees, made to look uncomfortable, her brow furrowed as she looked at her racquet net. But she fought hard, reducing twice the deficit to a solitary point as Marin committed a flurry of errors.
Marin smashed one to lead 19-16. Surely the game was hers? No, no. Sindhu persevered, returning serves with precision and power, and the scoreline went from 17-19 to 18-19 to 19-19 and then 20-19 as chants of 'jeetega bhai jeetega' reverberated from the sizable Indian support in the stands. It was nail-biting badminton.
Then Marin messed up a return against a superb flick from Sindhu, forced to turn as she ran backward, and the shuttle flopped in her half. Sindhu roared, pumped her fists. The first game was hers.
But Marin is a champion, and went up 4-0 in the second game, then 8-2. Her shots and returns regained a heartbeat, she pushed Sindhu into errors and the momentum was snatched back. A nine-point advantage was punctuated by a ferocious smash to which Sindhu had no answer. The rest of the game saw Sindhu frustrated repeatedly, and despite scattered moments of aggression she fell behind 12-21.
The decisive third game initially went Marin's way 6-1, but Sindhu kept hitting back. Three straight points reduced the deficit to two points (10-8), which turned into 10-10 after a teasing, gasp-inducing rally full of brilliance. An error in judgement from Sindhu put her back 14-10, then Marin won a review, 16-12; a shot went out, 16-14; Marin smashed into Sindhu's body, 17-14; a dab past Sindhu and it was 18-14 and that was the shift that Marin needed to round out a dominant win. (Jamie Alter | TNN | Aug 19, 2016)
Andhra, Telangana both claim Sindhu
Aug 24 2016 : Arun Kumar Govindraj The Times of India (Delhi) Whose Sindhu is she anyway!
The tale of one-upmanship between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana continued for a third day with Chandrababu Naidu declaring Pusarla Venkata Sindhu as “Andhra Pradesh's muddu bidda (beloved daughter)“ and granting 15 acres of land to her mentor Pullela Gopichand in Amaravati to set up a world class badminton academy Gopichand's academy in Hyderabad stands on 5 acre of land which too was a largesse from Naidu when he was chief minister of united AP .
Soon after Sindhu won the silver, Naidu quickly announced a Rs 3 crore cash reward for her along with a 1,000 square yard residential plot in AP's upcoming capital Amaravati. He also offered her Group I officer's post of special grade deputy collector in the AP government.On Tuesday an appointment order was kept ready for her, but Sindhu declined the offer. Telangana government biggies who had tweeted that a Rs 1 crore cash reward would be given to Sindhu upped the offer to Rs 5 crore soon after Naidu declared his intent to give Rs 3 crore.
“Both Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM Chandrasekhar Rao fought over Hyderabad at the time of bifurcation and are warring over Sindhu now. Naidu's council of ministers have gone a step ahead by claiming Sindhu as AP's Telugu ammayi (daughter).“ KCR's daughter and Nizamabad MP K Kavitha, too, wasn't far behind. “If Sindhu wins gold, we would present a `golden bonam' (an offering to goddess Mahankali) in true Telangana style,“ she had said.
The economic rewards
The economic rewards of Sindhu’s Olympic silver medal of 2016 run into tens of crore (hundreds of million) rupees. For details see The Olympics: India (1900-2016) > Olympic medallists, 2012, 2016: Rewards> PV Sindhu.
Excerpts from a post-Olympic silver medal interview
Aug 31 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)
The Times of India: Your coach (Gopichand) has some superstitions. Does he insist that you should also follow them? Was that why you repeated the same yellow dress in the semi-final and final?
No. Gopi sir never insists on such things. The rule is that the two players cannot wear the same colour. I wanted to wear red but then she (Carolina) wore that.
Since last year in Delhi to Rio Olympics, you have added a lot of aggressive strokes to your repertoire. Did you spend the whole year preparing shots like backhand flicks and smashes?
Yes. I have been practising each and every stroke, not one particular stroke. Every year, step by step, I have been improving. Each stroke is totally different and needs to be prepared differently . Definitely I have improved a lot since last year. I think it's very important that you learn strokes. But once you get a stroke, it's not like `okay I have got that stroke'.You have to still make it perfect.
Carolina spoke about the mind games.She said she played some mind games.How fair was it?
Carolina is a very aggressive player. She is left-handed. The gamesmanship is always there. So I was prepared for that. I didn't get irritated or annoyed thinking that she's changing shuttles too often.
People keep talking about your height and its advantages. But surely there must be some downside to it also?
There are advantages and disadvantages. I think the bending part is a disadvantage. Reach is always good but they (opponents) make you bend, they play drop shots and then you have to bend more.
In sports, there is a lot of focus on how you look and we saw a different avatar of you during an event in Hyderabad. Will we see more of that?
(Smiling) Maybe yes. It is also important to look good, you know. Recently, I have been working with [stylist] Shravya Varma, who is also from Hyderabad.
There is talk that your second bronze at the World championships prompted Saina [Nehwal] to leave Gopi. What do you think?
I don't think it's about what I did. It's about what she wants. She felt that she wanted to go somewhere else, so she left.
Do you think you gained from her leaving, in the sense that Gopichand could give you more attention?
Nothing like that but he (Gopi) has always been very supportive to all the players he looks after. Even at that time (when Saina left), I was much junior. He used to train her first thing in the morning. Gopi sir gives equal share of attention to each and every player.
A Day In Sindhu's Life
Aug 20 2016 : Manne Ratnakar The Times of India (Delhi)
3.30 AM:
Former Indian volleyball captain PV Ramana wakes up to the alarm. He gets ready in 15 minutes and arrives at the Pullela Gopichand Academy along with his daughter PV Sindhu. Even though he retired from the sport more than a decade ago, Ramana is still going through the grind only to help his daughter. He shuttles between academy and home three to four times until he retires for the day at 9.30 p.m. This is more or less the schedule for Ramana and his wife Vijaya. The parents, both employed with the Railways, endured even tougher schedules when they lived in Secunderabad. Every day they had to travel about 60 km between Secunderabad and Gachibowli to take Sindhu to the academy.
7.10 AM:
The coach and her parents are working on the mental strength of Sindhu. “She needs to be very strong mentally,“ said Ramana, waiting in the sitting room at the academy. Sindhu returns from the court after a hard first session training, walks past her father into the coach's room. Gopi hands her a recording. Sindhu puts on her earphones and slips into a corner to perform certain yogasanas and yoganidhra.
7.40 AM:
Sindhu comes out of the coach's room and joins her father. Both of them go home for breakfast and return by 9 am.
9 AM:
Sindhu is back at the academy.Training continues till noon. The duo goes back home for lunch. During the break, Sindhu relaxes a bit. She likes watching programmes like `Bathuku Jatka Bandi' which are related to the lives of people.
3.30 PM:
Sindhu is back at the academy after a short nap with father in tow.
7.30 PM:
Back home after three hours of training. Has dinner with parents and spends time in front of TV.
FAVOURITE FOOD:
Kheema Roti and if permitted biryani; but there are severe restrictions on her diet
PASTIME WATCHING
Telugu movies.
FAVOURITE STARS:
Prabhas and Mahesh Babu.
LOVES TV:
If given a chance Sindhu would watch TV all night. But her parents enforce a regime for her sake and Sindhu, though, she doesn't like it, follows the rules, and prefers to sleep by her mother's side.
Style
With a methodical style of play, considered to be defensive — building up with long rallies to lay seize to a point as and when an opening arises, she has evolved remarkably well to streamline her method towards winning. When an athlete makes his or her way up the ladder, all keen and purposeful, with built-up character and technical refinement in tow, it is some morale-boosting victories, high on magnitude, that renders them more confident and replete with self-belief.
