The future of Indian Badminton-P.V. Sindhu : Reaches Dutch Open Semis

She really is the wonder girl of India, for she has the future of Indian badminton in her hands. At the tender age of 16, her talent is incredible and she has already achieved a lot in the world of badminton. The girl in focus is P.V. Sindhu who currently trains at Hyderabad’s Gopichand Badminton Academy and is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest in her mission for success.

Having had to travel 56 kms every day to reach the academy, commitment and perseverance are lessons Sindhu has learnt at a young age. When someone like Pullela Gopichand, her coach and former all England badminton champion, says “the most striking feature in Sindhu’s game is her attitude and the never-say-die spirit”, you sit up and take notice.

Sindhu’s list of achievements is glittering; a bronze medal at the 2009 sub0junior Asian Badminton Championships held in Colombo, silver medal in the singles category in the 2010 Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge, a quarter final exit at the 2010 Junior World Badminton Championships in Mexico and a bronze at the Indian Grand Prix in Hyderabad. All of this makes you wonder with awe at the prodigious talent Indian badminton has discovered in Sindhu.

Her major breakthrough at the international circuit came when she won the Gold medal at the Indonesian international badminton challenge held in Surabaya in 2011. In the finals she defeated Indonesian Fransiska Ratnasari, ranked World no. 35, in straight sets (21-16, 21-11), which turned out to be a monumental achievement.

“I want to be the World No. 1 one day,” said the young girl, after winning the Indonesian International challenge. “Whenever I play a seeded girl, I don’t think I’m going to lose. I just see that I play my best.”

Sindhu defeated world no.22 and 4th seeded Juan Gu of Singapore in Dutch Open, thus creating a huge upset in the tournament and also toppling Jeanine Cicognini of Switzerland 21-18 21-9 to reach the semi-final, where she will face the No.1 seed and World no.11 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand.

Is she India’s next Saina Nehwal in the making? There is still a long way to go for this young girl and plenty to do in terms of working on her weaknesses and performing in major tournaments. But her talent is undisputed and if groomed well, she might very well be a medal winner for India in an Olympics!