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PV Sindhu is back! Yes, she did suffer a loss in the Round of 16 of the Singapore Open Super 750 BWF World Tour event, but it was a fierce contest. She was up against her old nemesis - three-time world champion Carolina Marin - and she came very close to winning.
In the end, Marin managed to overcome the Indian shuttler's challenge and win 13-21, 21-11, 22-20. However, after enduring a miserable 2023 and a spate of disappointing losses to unheralded players this season, Sindhu is playing like a top performer.
In last week's Malaysia Masters, she managed to reach the final, where she lost to China's Wang Zhi Yi. This tournament brought her face-to-face with the world's leading players. While she may not have won this match, the two-time Olympian has shown the ability to take on the best.
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With the Olympics less than two months away, the signs are really good for PV Sindhu. She now seems to have regained her touch under the tutelage of Prakash Padukone.
Indian fans appreciated the efforts of Sindhu against Marin. Though they were disappointed with the narrow loss of the 28-year-old, the fans knew that the signs are good.
Here are some notable reactions on X:
Some fans, though, were not that impressed and saw the negative side of this defeat for the Indian ace shuttler.
PV Sindhu's return of form in last few days
Things were looking really bleak for PV Sindhu when she lost in the Round of 16 of the Badminton Asia Championships 2024 in April. This followed a series of poor performances on the BWF World Tour.
This was despite her having brought Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone on board her coaching team. What made it worse was that Sindhu was losing to players who were not even among the top players.
At the Badminton Asia Championships, she lost to China's Han Yue. Before that, at the Madrid Spain Masters, she suffered a loss to Thailand's Supanida Katethong.
Following the Asian Championships, she took a break and missed the Uber Cup. This seems to have refreshed her and she made a brilliant comeback in the Malaysia Masters last week.
She made it to the final and defeated Han Yue and Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand) in three sets en route to it. This suggests that Sindhu is now back to her fighting best. Running a player of the quality of Marin this close suggests that she can now compete with the best.
With two Olympic medals and a world title in her kitty, PV Sindhu has already established herself as a legend of the sport. But, it seems she is desperate for a third Olympic medal as well.
