EAGER TO WIN OLYMPIC GOLD: SINDHU WE THINK WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK: PRAKASH

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW P.V. SINDHU & PRAKASH PADUKONE

- NEERU BHATIA

It was an exhilarating and sapping finals. The ladies on either side of the net refused to give up. Eventually one had to. On August 19, 2016, P.V. Sindhu ended up with the silver medal while friend-cum-foe Carolina Marin became Olympic champion after a three-set duel. Sindhu has been there and seen that. The gold is what she wants, as athletes across the world prepare for the Paris Games. The bitter taste of ending on the losing side has stayed with her all these years, and it has made her hungry for gold.

Sindhu is the most-followed Indian badminton star with 3.1 million followers on X, the same number on Facebook and by close to 100 million Indians on television. The ace does not mention anywhere in her bio that she has won two Olympic medals—the silver at Rio 2016 and a bronze at Tokyo 2020. Winning even one Olympic medal would make many athletes mention it in ALL CAPS, but not Sindhu. Because her quest for the elusive Olympic gold is still on. As if it is now or never for the 28-year-old, though badminton has had older champions.

Sindhu was 20 when she won her silver in 2016; she has five World Championship medals, including a gold. Yet, the Olympic gold is the biggest miss in her trophy cabinet.

Of course, becoming a champion and staying at the top is not easy. Sindhu suffered a stress fracture on her left ankle which kept her out of the year-ending BWF finals in 2023. She was injured during the Commonwealth Games in August even though she persevered to win the title. “Her doctor advised her to take some more time, so that she recovers completely ahead of the new season,” said her father, P.V. Ramanna.