A glimpse of PV Sindhu's campaign at Asian Games 2022

Sindhu arrived in Hangzhou under pressure to deliver but endured a disappointing campaign.

PV Sindhu has been one of India’s biggest names in badminton for more than a decade. She won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics, followed by bronze at Tokyo 2020, before becoming the first Indian woman to win the BWF World Championships in 2019.

She had also won silver in women’s singles at the 2018 Asian Games. However, Sindhu entered Hangzhou at a very different stage of her career. She had won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games but suffered a stress fracture in her left ankle/foot during the tournament.

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The injury forced her to miss the World Tour Finals and the World Championships before she returned to competition in January 2023. Her comeback season was difficult, with several early exits and her world ranking dropping outside the top 10. She was World No. 15 heading into the Asian Games.

Women’s team event

India began their women’s team campaign with a dominant 3–0 victory over Mongolia, with PV Sindhu defeating Myagmartseren Ganbaatar 21–3, 21–3 in the opening singles match.

Thailand provided a much tougher challenge in the next round. Sindhu faced Pornpawee Chochuwong in the opening singles match and lost after winning the first game 21-14.

Chochuwong came back to win the next two games 21-15, 21-14, giving Thailand the first point. India eventually lost the tie 0-3 in the quarter-final and missed out on a team medal.

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Singles campaign

Sindhu started her individual campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Wen-chi in the Round of 32. She produced a comfortable performance, winning 21-10, 21-15 and moving into the next round.

Her pre-quarterfinal opponent was Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani. Sindhu again won in straight games, 21-16, 21-16, to book her place in the quarter-finals.

The quarter-final brought China’s He Bingjiao, an opponent Sindhu knew well. Sindhu had defeated Bingjiao in the bronze-medal match at the Tokyo Olympics, but this time the result went the other way. Bingjiao won 21-16, 21-12, ending Sindhu’s singles campaign.

While Sindhu’s team and individual campaigns ended early, India still had a strong overall outing in badminton. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won gold in men’s doubles, the men’s team won silver, and HS Prannoy secured bronze in men’s singles.

A campaign that fell short

Sindhu’s world ranking has also reflected the shift in her standing compared to her peak Olympic years. She was ranked World No. 10 around the Rio 2016 Olympics and climbed to No. 7 during the Tokyo Games, before entering the 2022 Asian Games as the World No. 15.

Her quarter-final exit in Hangzhou saw Sindhu return home without a medal, marking a notable departure from her silver-medal finish at the 2018 Asian Games. Her result also came during a difficult period in her career, when she was still trying to regain her best form after the injury.

The result was particularly disappointing given Sindhu’s established record at major events and the expectations surrounding her.

However, her campaign must also be viewed in the context of a difficult season, as she strove to regain her best form. Sindhu had openly spoken about the challenges of finding her rhythm again after the injury and the repeated early losses.

India won three medals in badminton, but Sindhu could not repeat her 2018 success at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Her team exited in the quarter-finals, and she suffered the same fate in the individual event, bringing a difficult campaign to an end.

Her experience and record at major events will once again make her one of India’s key medal hopes.

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