Exactly 24 hours ahead of the Japan Open final in 2019, Pullela Gopichand seemed quietly confident. “The courts are on the slower side and in conditions like these, Sindhu will always do well because of her physical agility,” said Gopi. “Players have to play every day and by the time we get to the final, the body starts to give up on you. Sindhu is different for she can keep going for days and weeks. Courts in Tokyo next year should suit her, and there is no question she will have a major chance at the Olympics.”
While Chen Yufei complained of fatigue and cited it as a reason for her failure against Sindhu, the newly crowned 2019 world champion had also endured what was like a 15-round boxing match against Tai Tzu Ying in the quarter final. But for Sindhu, it was all in a day’s work and there were no signs of fatigue against Chen. And in the final against Nozomi Okuhara, Sindhu was all over the Japanese from the very start of the match. Eight straight points to take a commanding lead, and there was no looking back.
The physicality and aggression that Gopi talked about, something that Sindhu alluded to when we spoke after the final, had not come easily to her. Rather, it had taken years of training and hard work. And it is this physicality that has been missing in her game since she got injured soon after the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. Out of action for five months, she has looked rusty since. The Badminton Asia Championship was the first occasion when we could see glimpses of the old Sindhu. The smashes were back, and her movement was much better. Even against An Se Young, a match Sindhu lost, she was brilliant in the first game, winning it 21-18.
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The point I am trying to make is simple. Sindhu knows the big stage, and has always pushed a notch higher when the Olympics come round. And with Olympic qualification having started from May 1, there is every reason to believe Sindhu will yet again start to raise the bar. Though she ended up losing a close three-setter to Tai Tzu in India’s Sudirman Cup opener against Chinese Taipei, there were enough glimpses of the old Sindhu to encourage fans.
For Sindhu, it has already been a great career. Two Olympic medals stand testimony to that. A journey that has made her a household star in India and elevated her to cult status. A symbol of women’s empowerment, and an aspirational story of fulfilment. But her story isn’t finished yet. “I must say I enjoyed seeing the tricolour go up in Rio,” she will tell you each time you sit down for a freewheeling chat.
She will be 28 in Paris, still in the prime of her career. And it may well be her moment, if she is able to regain full fitness. At the moment, she is behind Akane Yamaguchi, Tai Tzu, An Se Young and Chen Yu Fei. These four girls have dominated women’s badminton for a while now, and Sindhu is more of an also-ran at the moment. But then, the Olympics are a whole different ball game. It is about pressure, and who handles it better.
We have seen what Sindhu did to Yamaguchi in Tokyo. We have seen how she took out He Bingjiao in the bronze-medal encounter. Paris will give her one final opportunity to shout about having done it for the tricolour. Or even cry. India too will be smiling and crying with her. In satisfaction, and in celebration of a mission fulfilled. The journey had started in Rio. It picked up momentum in Tokyo, and Paris could easily be the home stretch. We could well see the first big strides taken during the Sudirman Cup in China. The renaissance of PV Sindhu, India’s greatest badminton player ever.