PV Sindhu is undoubtedly the best ever shuttler India has ever produced. She has won an Olympic medal twice — in 2016 and 2020, and has a World Championship gold to her name as well, apart from four silvers and bronzes. She reached the World No. 2 in rankings, and beat the best in the business, left, right and centre. Now it’s time for Olympics 2024, and Sindhu would be looking to add to her medals tally.
Can PV Sindhu Win a Medal at Olympics 2024?
But her struggle with injuries and inconsistent form stands in the way of her third consecutive medal at Paris 2024. For all you know, Sindhu might just surprise everyone and go the distance, and has all the goods to do so, but then for now, the writing is there on the wall. More so for the fans, that don’t overburden the legend with the expectations of a medal.
At the Indonesia Open, she was beaten by Chinese Taipei’s Wen Chi Hsu in three games. At the Singapore Open, she came really close to beating Carolina Marin after six years, but succumbed in three games. Sindhu was ousted in pre-quarters. The 28-year-old had an excellent Malaysia Masters, where she reached the final, but went down to Wang Zhi Yi.
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At the Badminton Asia Championships, she was knocked out in the Round of 16, while in Madrid Masters, she lost in the quarters. As for the rest of the tournaments — Swiss Open and All England, she reached the last 16 as well.
Unfair to Expect a Medal
It is worth looking at, how many Top-5 players has Sindhu beaten recently, or can beat in the future or at Paris 2024. An Se Young leads the women’s singles rankings, followed by Chen Yu Fei, Tai Tzu Ying, Carolina Marin, Akane Yamaguchi.
Sindhu has never beaten the current World No. 1 An Se Young in their seven meetings. Coming to Chen Yu Fei, Sindhu has won 6 out of 11 meetings, but the last time the Chinese came out on top, at the French Open. Sindhu’s record vs Tai Tzu is rather lop-sided and has won only five times in 24 meetings. Similarly, against Marin, out of 17 played the Indian has won only six. Sindhu has a positive record against Yamaguchi, but the Japanese had won the last match in Canada Open 2023.
And it goes without saying, that if PV Sindhu can’t beat these players, then it is going to be difficult for her to win medal at the Olympics 2024.
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