Throwback to PV Sindhu's historic run at 2019 BWF World Championships

PV Sindhu will be in action in the upcoming BWF World Championships.

The much-awaited BWF World Championship 2025 is set to take place in Paris from August 25 to 31. PV Sindhu will once again headline India’s challenge as she aims to recreate her past glory with strong performances.

Historically, India have won a total of 14 medals at the BWF World Championships, with Sindhu bagging five of them. She is only the second athlete, after China’s Zhang Ning, to win five or more medals in the singles at the World Championships.

PV Sindhu produced her finest performance in 2019, where she claimed India’s maiden gold medal. Let’s take a look at how Sindhu progressed round-by-round in that edition en route to her glory at Basel in Switzerland.

How did Sindhu fare in the preliminary rounds of the 2019 BWF World Championships?

PV Sindhu was seeded fifth and met Taiwan’s Yu-Po Pai in the Round of 32 game. Both shuttlers were competitive early on, with the scores tied at 5-5.

However, Sindhu soon picked up momentum with her smashes, while Pai was under pressure with the shuttlecock going out of bounds on a few occasions. As a result, the first set ended with a scoreline of 21-14 in favor of Sindhu.

The Indian star made a great start in the second set, as she was ahead by 6-1. Although Pai tried to bounce back, Sindhu maintained her dominance to win the second set 21-15. In the Round of 16, PV Sindhu clashed against America’s Beiwen Zhang. At one point, Zhang was leading the first set by 5-2.

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However, Sindhu turned the tables with her aggressive approach and took a seven-point lead. Zhang couldn’t respond well and went on to lose the first set 21-14.

Sindhu was relentless in the second set, as she stormed to a 21-6 win in the second set and qualified for the Round of 8. In the quarterfinals, PV Sindhu was matched up against Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying, whom she lost to in the 2018 Asian Games final. The first set saw Ying using her wits to claim a 21-12 victory.

The second set saw both players competing closely, while Sindhu brought her impressive smashes into play to counter Ying. She eventually eked out a 23-21 win, forcing a third set. PV Sindhu maintained her tempo and secured a hard-fought victory with a scoreline of 21-19 in the final set and entered the top four.

PV Sindhu scripts history with her dominant performances

The semi-final fixture saw PV Sindhu taking on China’s Chen Yufei. She seemed set to defeat Yufei right from the start.

As a result, Sindhu earned a 21-7 victory. Although Yufei tried hard in the second set, she was overpowered by Sindhu’s well-planned strategy. The Indian shuttler went on to claim a 21-14 win and reached the final.

Then, PV Sindhu was up against the challenge of Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the final. It was a one-way affair, as Okuhara was no match for Sindhu, who induced fouls and utilized her perfect game plan to win the first set 21-7.

Sindhu used her long reach to trouble her opponent, leaving Okuhara unable to mount a strong response. The final score was again 21-7 in favour of the Indian as the game ended in just 38 minutes.

After earning two bronze and as many silver medals in the last few editions, PV Sindhu finally managed to get her hands on the gold medal. 

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