Why PV Sindhu needs to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics?

The shuttler's success at the quadrennial event will be integral to the future of badminton in India.

Amidst a lot of uncertainty, the Tokyo Olympics is finally on stage with hundreds of athletes eyeing the prestigious Olympic medal. Four Indian badminton players had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics- PV Sindhu (women's singles), Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty (men's doubles), and Sai Praneeth (men's singles). Among these, PV Sindhu is the only shuttler to be in contention for a Tokyo Olympics medal. She stormed into the semifinals with a straight-game victory over Akane Yamaguchi of Japan on July 30.

Moreover, the Rio Olympic silver medalist is only one win away from winning her second medal at the Olympic Games. Sindhu will face Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in the semifinal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6noZrB1Au4w

Indian badminton at the Olympics

Badminton in India received a huge boost when Saina Nehwal won the first-ever Olympic medal for the country at the 2012 London Olympics. PV Sindhu climbed one step ahead at the 2016 Rio Olympics by clinching the first-ever silver medal in badminton for India.

The overall Indian badminton boomed post-Saina's win in 2012. However, the former world no. 1 failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics due to the challenging qualification period. Similarly, Sindhu's silver uplifted the spirit of Indian badminton to another level. Such notable performances by these players have increased the participation of badminton in India. Moreover, the number of players on the World circuit has also increased.

In the men's category, no Indian has been able to reach above the quarterfinals stage at the Olympics. It was only Parupalli Kashyap and Srikanth Kidambi, who were able to reach the quarterfinals, but finished without winning a medal.

Therefore, India's hopes would be pinned on PV Sindhu to earn a medal in badminton. This would be very important to uplift the spirit of the sport in the country. In recent years, the quality of Indian badminton has dipped considerably, with only a few players being able to perform at the topmost level.

Sindhu and Nehwal have been frontrunners

There has been only PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who have been earning considerable wins for the country in women's singles. In men's singles, although eight Indians come inside the top 50 of the World ranking, there has been only one player (Sai Praneeth) who managed to qualify for the Olympics.

It is for the first time that men's doubles have shown a lot of promise in India, courtesy of the young duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. While their Olympic journey ended after a loss against the World no. 1 pair, the promise and determination showed by the duo is an inspiration to all doubles players of the country.

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Therefore, it has been only Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu who has been consistent in the world circuit winning numerous titles for the country. A significant change had been observed in terms of training centers, participation, and quality of performance after these legends shone at the grandest sporting spectacle.

Sindhu is known to perform her best at major badminton tournaments like the World Championships and Olympics. Not only would a medal won by PV Sindhu at the Tokyo Olympics help in the development of the sport in the country, but it would also show hope in all those players to want to reach the highest level in badminton. It is very much needed to guide the extensive development of badminton in India.For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.