The whole nation rejoiced on Sunday, as PV Sindhu created history by becoming the first Indian ever to have claimed gold at the World Badminton Championships. India’s star-shuttler made her way to the top of the podium by commanding victory over her opponent Nozomi Okuhara, from Japan. Sindhu emerged victorious with a lopsided score 21-7 21-7 in the final in Switzerland. The badminton star raised the game to another level as she maintained complete dominance over her opponent since the start and knocked her out in the summit clash that lasted mere 38 minutes.
With her historic win, PV Sindhu also became the second woman shuttler after Zhang Ning of China to have won five medals at the World Championships. Infact, Sindhu is the only player to have won five medals at World Championships in just six appearances. The 24-year-old dedicated her maiden gold to her mother, as she said, “I dedicate this medal to my mother. It’s her birthday today. She will be tremendously happy. I wanted to give her something and now I can give her this.” Sindhu also thanked and attributed her success to her head coach Pullela Gopichand and her new South Korean coach Kim Ji Hyun.
The badminton star raised the game to another level as she maintained complete dominance over her opponent since the start and knocked her out in the summit clash that lasted mere 38 minutes.
With her glorious victory, she bid adieu to her long string of prior losses, including her agonising defeat to Carolina Marin at World Championship finals last year where she had to settle for a silver medal. Winning a gold medal at last, Sindhu exclaimed, “I lost last year in the final and the year before that. I am really very, very happy. I have waited for this victory, and finally I’ve become the world champion. I’ve no words to express my feelings because I was waiting for this.” After creating history, the ace shuttler is now looking forward to winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
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Her Early Life And Prior Achievements
PV Sindhu has been playing badminton since she was eight years old. Although her parents are professional volleyball players, she chose badminton under the inspiration of Pullela Gopichand, former badminton player and her coach.
Sindhu first gained international attention in 2009, when she became a bronze medallist at the Sub-Junior Asia Badminton Championships held in Colombo. The badminton star also clinched the silver medal in the women’s singles in 2010 at Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge and was a part of the national team at the 2010 Uber Cup. In 2012, she claimed her place on the top of the podium at Asian Youths Under 19 Championship by defeating Nozomi Okuhara. In 2013, Sindhu had her first Grand Prix Gold title. It was also the same year when she bagged Macau Open Grand Prix gold title.
PV Sindhu also has many firsts to her credit. In the year 2014, Sindhu became the first Indian to have won back-to-back medals in BWF World Badminton Championships. She also became the youngest and the first Indian female to win a silver medal in Olympics in the year 2016. The strong-willed player was also the first Indian to win Korea Open Super Series in 2017. Sindhu once again made the nation proud in 2018 by becoming the first Indian to have claimed a silver medal in the Asian Games.
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With her historic win, PV Sindhu also became the second woman shuttler after Zhang Ning of China to have won five medals at the World Championships. Infact, Sindhu is the only player to have won five medals at World Championships in just six appearances.
Awards and Her Other Achievements
Sindhu is also recipient of several prestigious awards. In the year 2013, she was conferred by the government of India with Arjuna Award. She was honoured with the country’s fourth highest civilian award—Padma Shri Award in 2015. She also received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour in 2016.
Earlier this year, Sindhu found herself a place and was ranked 13th in the Forbes 2019 list of world’s highest-paid female athletes. Year after year, Sindhu continues to bring in several accolades and bashes restrictive sexist barriers that prevents women from entering the domain of sports.
Also read in Hindi: पीवी सिंधू : वर्ल्ड बैडमिंटन चैंपियनशिप में गोल्ड मेडल लाने वाली पहली भारतीय
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