SHOULDERING A BILLION DREAMS

Silver, Bronze, Gold? Will the third time be a charm for the champion shuttler?

- NIRAJ KAKADE

On August 20, 2016, the cafeteria of the call centre where I work is an intriguing sight. It's past midnight and time for a change in the shift. Amidst half-asleep greetings and handovers, the small TV in the corner constantly draws the fleeting attention of everyone. One question rings loud: "Do you think she'll win the gold?"

20-year-old Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is locked in a battle against Carolina Marin, who would become her archnemesis for the next decade. Marin enters as the favourite, having won the world championship twice up until then and ranked as the best player globally, advancing to the final without dropping a game. For a 20-year-old, who's pushing through a stress fracture, after her senior and Olympic medalist compatriot Saina Nehwal was knocked out before the quarterfinals, it's David vs Goliath.

Yet, the battle goes down to the wire, with both Olympians matched toe-to-toe. Unfortunately, it ends with Marin clinching the gold. After the initial sighs of disappointments, the cafeteria erupts in a rather wholesome round of applause. PV Sindhu has just become India's youngest individual Olympic medalist and the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal. Looking back, Sindhu remembers, "Honestly, I never thought I would win a medal. I was just like any other kid, excited to play in my first Olympics. When I went to my first Olympics, my focus was simply on doing well and giving my all. Match by match, I kept winning, and things went well. Though I reached the finals and couldn't win, I gave it my best. When I returned to India, people told me how crazy it was back home. Life has completely changed for me since then."