Badminton star Pusarla Venkata (PV) Sindhu became the first Indian woman to take home two individual Olympic medals after winning the women’s singles bronze medal on Sunday at the Tokyo Games.
Another historic feat: Sindhu, who won India’s historic silver at Rio Olympics in 2016, lost the semi-finals to Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying on Saturday but defeated China’s He Bing Jiao (21-13, 21-15) the next day to secure the third spot at the podium, reported NDTV.
- “There were lots of ups and downs, but I think apart from all that… I think the dream that has come true,” Sindhu told WION in an interview after the match. “I’m just on cloud nine.”
- The 26-year-old athlete is only the second Indian athlete to win two Olympic medals after wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won bronze in Beijing in 2008 and silver in London in 2012.
- Sindhu is also the fourth badminton player to win multiple Olympic medals in the women’s singles category, joining South Korea’s Bang Soo-Hyun, Indonesia’s Susi Susanti and China’s Zhang Ning in the elite list.
International star: Sindhu began earning global recognition for India when she entered the international circuit in 2009 at age 14, winning bronze at the 2009 Sub-Junior Asian Badminton Championships and then silver at the 2010 Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge.
- Over the years, Sindhu has been winning multiple medals in different international tournaments, including the Asian Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games and the World Championships.
- Sindhu became the first Indian to win the historic gold medal at the World Championships in 2019. It was Sindhu’s fifth World Championships medal.
- Sindhu has also become the most marketable female athlete in India, earning lucrative sponsorship deals over the years.
- She placed 7th in Forbes’ Highest-Paid Female Athletes List in 2018 and 13th in 2019.
Featured Image via Getty
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