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Indian badminton star PV Sindhu has started her campaign strongly in the Paris Olympics. Sindhu easily defeated Fatima Nabaha Abdul Razak of Maldives in her first match in Group-M of women's singles on 28 July. Sindhu won this match 21-9, 21-6 against the world number-111 player. Sindhu took only 29 minutes to win the match. Sindhu will now face Kristin Kuba of Estonia in her second group match on 31 July. If she wins this match, she will reach the pre-quarterfinals.
Sindhu is eyeing to create history
PV Sindhu won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics and a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. If she manages to reach the podium at the Paris Olympics, she will become the first Indian athlete to complete a hat-trick of medals. 29-year-old Sindhu has not been in form for some time, but she said that spending the last eight months with Prakash Padukone has boosted her confidence and she is ready to win her third consecutive medal.
Sindhu had trained before coming to Paris
Before coming to Paris, Sindhu trained at SportCampus Saar in Saarbrucken, Germany, where the altitude, weather and conditions are similar to the French capital. To acclimatise to the conditions, she created a hypoxic chamber (low oxygen) in her room and slept there for a few days. A hypoxic chamber helps prepare the athletes' bodies to play at altitude.
Sindhu will get challenge from these players
Sindhu's first big challenge will come in the Round of 16, when she will face China's Bingjiao, her opponent in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. In that match, Bingjiao was easily defeated by Sindhu 21-13, 21-15. However, Bingjiao won her previous match against Sindhu at the 2022 Asian Games. Bingjiao has a record of 11-9 against Sindhu.
If Sindhu beats Bingjiao and reaches the quarterfinals, she will face China's Chen Yufei (barring a major upset). The Indian superstar has not lost a match against any Chinese shuttler at the Olympics and World Championships, but Yufei is in great form.
The defending Olympic champion won the Indonesia Open earlier this month by defeating world number 1 An Seung in the final. Sindhu and Yufe have won 6-6 matches against each other so far. In the semi-finals, Sindhu may face Spanish veteran Carolina Marin, who has always been her biggest rival. Sindhu's record against Marin is not good, going 5-12. Marin had defeated Sindhu in the final of the 2016 Olympics.
Great success in sailing
In rowing, Indian athlete Balraj Panwar has kept alive the hope of winning a medal. Balraj Panwar has entered the quarter-finals by finishing second in the repechage event of rowing. Balraj became the fourth rower from India to reach the quarter-finals of the rowing event at the Olympics. Now his quarter-final match will be played on July 30.