Pusaria Venkata Sindhu, popularly known as PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win the silver medal in badminton at the Olympics. She made history with her performance at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Early Life
PV Sindhu was born to volleyball players, Arjuna Awardee PV Ramana and P. Vijaya. She was born on 5th July, 1995 in Hyderabad. While she was growing up, PV Sindhu had two volleyball players as her parents, but she chose badminton as her game of choice as she was inspired by the success of Pullela Gopichand at the All England Open Badminton Champion in 2001. Sindhu started playing badminton from the age of eight. She learnt the basics from Mehboob Ali and finally joined Pullela Gopichan’s academy.
Joining Gopichand’s academy helped her shine in badminton and she went on to win a number of tournaments. Even though PV. Sindhu had to travel for over 56 km from her residence to reach the coaching center, she was never late and this goes on to reflect her dedication and love for the sport.
Career
PV Sindhu won the under-10 years category of the 5th Servo All India Championship in both the doubles and singles category. She later won the under-13 category, which was organized in Pondicherry. PV Sindhu won the gold at even the All India Ranking tournament in Pune and the 51st National School Games.
While she was winning the national tournaments, PV Sindhu started making a mark in the international circuit as well. She won the bronze at the Sub-Junior Asian Badminton Championship, which was held in Colombo in 2009. In 2010 she won the silver at the Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge and was part of the Indian contingent for the 2010 Uber Cup as well.
PV Sindhu had a very successful run at the Indonesia Open and the China Open. At the onset of the Japan Open, there was a lot of hopes riding on her, but she was defeated in the second round by Bae Yeon Jr. from Korea, since she was nursing a bruised knee. She sat out of the World Junior Championships to heal fast.
At the Rio Olympics, Sindhu defeated Wang Yihan to set a finals game with Spain’s Carolina Marin. Sindhu lost the match 1-2 and went on to clinch the first silver medal for India.
Sindhu was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2013 and the Padma Shri in 2015.
P V Sindhu – Net Worth and Salary
The 1.79 meter tall badminton star has a net worth of INR 54 crore. She signed an endorsement deal worth Rs. 50 crore for 3 years, from various companies. She categorically refused endorsing colas and soft drinks.