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In the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024, which is just 30 days away, India will be fielding a 'very' potent badminton contingent. From experienced campaigners like PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy to young talents like Tanisha Crasto, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Unfortunately, India are yet to win a gold medal in table tennis at the Olympics. However, they do have three medals of other colours to boast of. Today we will look at the shuttlers who have won a medal in badminton at the Summer Games.
#1 Saina Nehwal
The first medal in badminton for India came way back in the London Olympics in 2012. Nehwal, who also took part in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, created history by becoming the first Indian shuttler to reach the quarter-finals. However, despite her loss at that stage of the event, she didn't go down.
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Four years later, a more mature Nehwal, who also became the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2009 and Khel Ratna Award, went on to grab the bronze medal. Although she couldn't bag a gold, but her achievement inspired the upcoming generation of shuttlers.
#2 PV Sindhu
Saina Nehwal's achievement was a first for the Indian badminton vertical. But her fight was also inspirational. In the Rio Olympics 2016, PV Sindhu took on the baton from Nehwal and created a milestone achievement, which in fact, surpassed the first medalist too.
Sindhu became the first Indian shuttler to reach the finals of the women's singles badminton event but suffered a heartbreaking loss to Spain Carolina Marin.
However, Sindhu tried to fight back five years later as well. In the Tokyo Olympics, she had set her target to bag the gold which she missed in Rio. But perhaps fortune was not with her as she could only bring home a bronze for the fans back home.
The Paris Olympics 2024 start a month later on July 26, and PV Sindhu will this be somewhat an underdog heading into the competition, considering her latest form and injury struggles.
But the mindset Sindhu has, she will definitely want to shock the world and show everyone pointing at her racquet that she still has the same flair she possessed back in 2022 when she won the gold at the Commonwealth Games.
