No medal, but PV Sindhu shows 'Big Event Player' is still breathing in her

PV Sindhu went down fighting against Putri Kusuma Wardani in the BWF World Championships 2025 quarterfinals.

As the shuttle took off from PV Sindhu‘s racquet and landed well wide of the tramlines, tears streamed down the cheeks of an emotional Putri Kusuma Wardani. She had just managed to clinch her first-ever World Championship medal. What better feeling than to defeat someone who has climbed onto the same podium five times previously!

On the other side was a feeling of so near, yet so far. For a person who is new to badminton and decides to have a look at the Indian’s glittering cabinet, qualifying for the quarterfinals would not seem to be an achievement of much magnitude when you look at her other feats. Except the fact that there was a long backstory this time.

It is not a fact unknown to many that PV Sindhu’s perseverance brought about her downfall in the Commonwealth Games 2022, when she decided to not withdraw despite nursing an injury. A gold medal in Birmingham came at the cost of a left foot stress fracture. Following that, she has just been a pale shadow of herself.

PV Sindhu out of #BWFWorldChampionships!! 💔🏸She goes down fighting against Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani in three games 14-21, 21-13, 16-21 to bow out of the tournament.No sixth BWF World Championships medal for Sindhu.📸 BWF/Badminton Photo#Badminton #BWC2025 pic.twitter.com/zdcbRPl2Mr

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 29, 2025

Fast forward to 2025, the Hyderabadi shuttler reached the quarterfinals at the India Open but failed to cross the second-round barrier in the next nine tournaments.

Earlier among the giants of the sport, she was now struggling against names much less prominent. Case in point, she came to Paris having lost in the second round of the China Open to talented yet rookie compatriot Unnati Hooda.

It thus wasn’t a surprise that much wasn’t expected of the sixteenth seed, here at the World Championships. The first two rounds didn’t really change that, considering she had a slow start against unfancied names in the form of Kaloyana Nalbantova and Karupathevan Letshanaa.

Also Read: Throwback to PV Sindhu’s historic run at 2019 BWF World Championships

And so, the script was ready for a thrashing against second seed Chinese Wang Zhi Yi in the round of 16. A shuttler who has played seven finals this year, including her recent triumph at the China Open. Except that life seldom follows a script.

What followed on court was 48 minutes of exhilarating action. Here was a PV Sindhu of the yesteryears. One who read the opponent’s next move like a book. One who considered attack as the best form of defence. In the words of the Chinese herself, she hadn’t expected the Indian to be “this quick”.

Wang Zhi Yi didn’t really do much wrong on court, but she was outclassed 19-21 15-21. The crowd roared, but the two-time Olympic medalist was heard the loudest. In the words of Bobby Griffin on air, “this was the upset of the tournament”. Undoubtedly, most pundits across the globe would have given a nod without hesitation.

Sindhu battles on despite setbacks

As PV Sindhu stepped back onto the court on Friday, with eyes of fans across the country firmly set on her, there was a wave of optimism making its way around. Age in reality, though, is not just a number. A 30-year-old shuttler is bound to have her limitations.

Creditably, she replicated a large part of what she had done the previous day. However, the minor deficiencies heartbreakingly costed her a potentially historic match, against an opponent seven years younger than the Indian. The ninth seed Indonesian was too cunning, especially at the net, causing a lot of problems to her opponent.

The result notwithstanding, one can recognize it as a renaissance of sorts. Here is an athlete, who has defied form, fitness and various other factors to make her mark at almost every international tournament of repute she has participated in.

Pusarla V. Sindhu at her best! @TotalEnergies#TotalEnergiesBadminton #BWFWorldChampionships #Paris2025 pic.twitter.com/lAEeY5Sy1G

— BWF (@bwfmedia) August 29, 2025

Winning two Olympic medals is no mean feat, considering the fact that the only common name on the podium in the Women’s Singles event at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games was Sindhu.

World Championship greatness did seem to beckon, as PV Sindhu would have overtaken Chinese great Zhang Ning’s tally of five medals in the competition and become the sole occupier of the top spot.

Also Read: BWF World Championships 2025: Satwik-Chirag storm into semis; PV Sindhu, Dhruv-Tanisha bow out

Unfortunately, destiny had other plans for the only Indian World Champion ever, across all five categories. That is not to say that the Khel Ratna awardee can’t accomplish the feat in the future.

However, the human body is often beyond one’s control, even if one has the most rigorous fitness routine. The shuttler’s journey towards the 2026 edition, incidentally in New Delhi next year, thus, seems arduous.

Nevertheless, if there is one player who can shun everything aside and peak during big matches and big tournaments, then that is Pusarla Venkata Sindhu.

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