Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, also known as P. V. Sindhu, is a badminton star from India who has been making her country proud with her impressive achievements in the international sports scene.
Sindhu first gained international attention after breaking into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking in September 2012 at the age of 17, while her silver medal win at the 2016 Rio Olympics further cemented her stature as one of India’s brightest star athletes.
Following Sindhu’s historic Olympic silver win two years ago, the support from both the public and private sector poured in, along with lucrative sponsorship deals, Indian Express reports.
Now, the 23-year-old is ranked among the highest paid female athletes of 2018 on a recent list by Forbes for earning $8.5 million. Her total prize money was $500,000 while her endorsements raked in a total of $8 million from June 2017 to June of this year.
The list, which places Serena Williams at the very top with $18.1 million, ranks Sindhu at an impressive No. 7, placing her just below tennis superstars Maria Sharapova (5th at $10.5 million) and Venus Williams (6th at $10.2 million) and above world’s top-ranked tennis player Simona Halep (8th at $7.7 million) and NASCAR driver-turned-entrepreneur Danica Patrick (9th at $7.5 million).
While this might have come as a surprise outside India, those who know her achievements back home can easily attribute her success to the hard work she has displayed over the years.
Sindhu’s latest feat was her historic individual silver medal at the Asian Games which came at a loss to World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the women’s singles title clash on Tuesday.
Netizens have been showering the young star athlete with praise in the last couple of days for making her nation proud:
SILVER SINDHU! 🥈#PVSindhu bags 2nd spot after going down to #TaiTzuYing (13-21, 16-21) in women’s singles badminton at #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/M7jPPyxXwt
— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) August 28, 2018
Well done #PVSindhu to clinch the SILVER medal 🥈at #AsianGames2018 🇮🇳
World no.1 Tai TzuYing was way too dominant ; Sindhu bowed out 21-13, 21-16.
Proud of Sindhu – 1st Indian to win a Silver medal in Badminton at #AsianGames
OGQ is very proud to support Sindhu. pic.twitter.com/uIvX25PgeX
— OGQ (@OGQ_India) August 28, 2018
.@Pvsindhu1 @NSaina gave us several moments of joy and it’s because of their dedication, the 🇮🇳 flag soars high today at the #AsianGames2018 Congratulations girls, the nation is proud of you! 💪🏸🥈🥉#IndiaontheRise #PVSindhu #SainaNehwal pic.twitter.com/3PDpTiA8W8
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) August 28, 2018
Congratulations for the Silver 🏅 #PVSindhu #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/iJhXmtVXSK
— Anushree (@Anushree2500) August 28, 2018
Congratulations @Pvsindhu1😍😍
First Ever Individual Badminton Silver For India💐💐#PVSindhu wins #SilverMedal in #AsianGames2018 #Sindhu@Suriya_offl @rajsekarpandian @2D_ENTPVTLTD @Karthi_Offl pic.twitter.com/tOXeSt1qXH
— SFC KANYAKUMARI (@SfcKaliakkavila) August 28, 2018
HISTORY CREATED! 👏
You’ve won hearts of each and every Indian. Congrats #PVSindhu, First Indian woman to win an #AsianGames silver medal in badminton. Thank u for one more medal for our nation. #AsianGames2018— Priyank (@dypriyank) August 28, 2018
Featured Image via Instagram / pvsinndhu