PV Sindhu Aims for Historic Olympic Hat-Trick in Paris: PV Sindhu is one of the Indian athletes in Paris preparing for the 2024 Olympics. However, the badminton sensation is in a position that no other Indian in the 117-strong group is in: Sindhu is aiming for her third Olympic medal. This would make her the most successful Indian Olympian in history.
Sindhu posted a photo on Instagram on Thursday, a day before the Games’ opening ceremony, from the court in Paris. “Paris 2024, the most special one yet,” she wrote in her caption for the photo.
While she has a reputation for putting poor form behind her when competing in major tournaments, Sindhu enters the 2024 Games with a far weaker buildup than her previous two appearances in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, where she won silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021, respectively. She had been on the sidelines for a long time after winning gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games owing to a knee ailment.
Sindhu has a 15-9 win-loss record since returning to competition, but has struggled to advance beyond the first round in most tournaments. However, there have been some bright sparks heading into the Olympics. Sindhu reached the Malaysia Masters final in May, coming close to defeating her long-time nemesis Carolina Marin for the first match in six years in Singapore.
A good group for Sindhu
The badminton games begin on July 27, a day after the opening ceremony, and Sindhu’s women’s singles campaign follows a day later. She has been placed in a beneficial group with Kristin Kuuba of Estonia and Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq of the Maldives, both of whom are ranked far behind Sindhu.
She could face In the round of 16, she will face He Bing Jiao, whom she defeated in the bronze medal match in Tokyo, and might then face reigning gold medallist Chen Yu Fei, who, unlike Sindhu, has been in excellent form, in the semifinals. Both players have won six games against each other, although Sindhu could be the underdog in that encounter.
