Tokyo Olympics: PV Sindhu – Everything you need to know about India’s first female double Olympic medallist | Tokyo Olympics News – Times of India

PV Sindhu has delivered yet again. The Indian badminton ace has added another Olympic medal to her already glittering resume. On Sunday, Sindhu completely dominated 8th seeded Chinese shuttler He Bing Jiao, winning the bronze medal match in straight games 21-13, 21-15.
Jiao, ranked 9th in the world, two spots below Sindhu didn’t seem like she had any answers to Sindhu’s all round performance. After losing to World number one Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-final, Sindhu looked much more confident on court against Jiao. From her net play, to drop shots to some incredible cross court and body smashes, Sindhu unleashed her full arsenal of shots against her Chinese opponent.
With this win, Sindhu also becomes the first Indian female athlete to win two Olympic medals. She is also technically only the third Indian athlete to win two individual Olympic medals (after Norman Pritchard in 1900 and Sushil Kumar in 2008 and 2012) and also the second Indian athlete to win medals in consecutive editions of the Olympics (she won silver in 2016 in Rio).

Sindhu is also the reigning World champion, having won the gold in the 2019 edition. She also has two silver and two bronze medals at the World Championships.
Here is everything you need to know about India’s two time Olympic medallist, PV Sindhu:
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (Badminton)
Date of Birth: July 5, 1995
Birth Place: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Sport/Event(s): Badminton
World ranking: 7th (As on 18 May 2021)
Major achievements:
* Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medal
* 2019 World Championships gold medal
* 2016 Rio Olympics silver medal
* Two silver and two bronze medals at the World Championships
* Asian Games – Individual silver (2018) & Team bronze (2014)
* Commonwealth Games – Mixed team gold (2018) & Individual silver (2018) and bronze (2014)
PV Sindhu is one of the most accomplished athletes from India, having won medals at almost all the major badminton tournaments including an unprecedented silver at the 2016 Rio edition, in what was her maiden Olympics appearance, followed by a bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The Rio success made her the first female athlete from India to win an Olympic silver medal.

Sindhu is also the reigning world champion after winning the 2019 World Championships title, as the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She was the first Indian to achieve that feat too. She also has four more medals from the prestigious World Championships – two silver and two bronze (silver in 2017 & 2018, bronze in 2013 & 2014).
In the 2016 Olympic final, Sindhu lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin. Sindhu won the first game 21-19, but then lost the next two 12-21, 15-21.
In April 2007, Sindhu had achieved a career high world ranking of 2. She had broken into the top 20 of the world rankings at the age of 17 in September 2012.
She is also only the second woman after former Chinese player Zhang Ning to win five or more medals at the World Championships.
Both of Sindhu’s parents have been national level volleyball players. Her father, Ramana, was part of the Indian men’s volleyball team which won the bronze medal at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. He is also an Arjuna award recipient.
Sindhu, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, began playing badminton at the age of 8.
Legendary Indian badminton player Pullela Gopichand played a huge role in shaping and moulding Sindhu and coached her to the silver medal at the Rio Games in 2016. Sindhu though does not train under Gopichand anymore and is currently being coached by South Korean Park Tae Sang.