Hope is soaring ahead of the BWF World Championships in New Delhi, with star shuttler PV Sindhu once again radiating the belief that made her a force to reckon with four years ago. Coaches are confident, fans are optimistic, and Sindhu is daring to dream of a record-shattering sixth Worlds medal – perhaps even a second gold.
A player with a penchant for medals on the biggest stages, Sindhu – a two-time Olympic medallist and five-time World Championships medallist – has long been India’s beacon of hope at the Worlds. And with her form peaking at the right time, hope is once again glowing bright for a podium finish at the cauldron of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
Her tenacity and work ethic are exemplary. At 31, even when the odds were stacked against her and results eluded her, Sindhu remained dedicated. That perseverance has helped her turn things around this year after a frustrating few seasons.
After a promising start to the season with a semifinal finish at the Malaysia Open, Sindhu consistently made deeper runs in BWF World Tour events, with her form culminating in the Japan Open title. She became the first Indian shuttler to win the prestigious Super 750 title in Tokyo.
“We are here almost every day, watching her sessions. And, you know, she has been putting in a lot of effort in the gym as well and spending more time with her personal psychologist. She has a great team of support staff working alongside her. So, you know, there has been absolutely no lack of effort on any front, I would say,” Sagar Chopda, head coach at the Centre for Badminton Excellence in Bengaluru, where Sindhu trains, told Sports Now.
The Japan Open final, where she beat World No. 3 and reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi in straight games, showed Sindhu is not done yet. More importantly, she appears to have peaked at the right time, just ahead of the World Championships at home.
Injuries took the edge off Sindhu
Since winning the Singapore Open Super 500 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2022, Sindhu struggled to produce such convincing performances.
A naturally aggressive player with big-hop smashes, Sindhu, plagued by a series of injuries, began to look a shadow of her former self. A stress fracture in her left foot at the Birmingham CWG, followed by one in her left knee and another injury to her toe, tamed her aggression.
The mighty cross-court smashes, a hallmark of her game, had gone missing. She looked least convincing at the net, appeared uncharacteristically slow and often ran out of gas in the decider. At last year’s Worlds, Sindhu went down to Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani after losing the third game from 16-17. Even this year at the China Open, Sindhu struggled to convert a 20-16 lead in the second game into a straight-game win over Chen Yufei in the Round of 16. She eventually lost the 90-minute-long clash in three games.
Old spark is back
Such defeats can make players doubt themselves. But great players always find a way to turn it around. Examples are plenty. Sindhu’s long-time rival Carolina Marin overcame a troubling knee injury to win the All England Open in 2024.
Training under the watchful gaze of Indonesian mastermind Irwansyah Adi Pratama since January 2025, Sindhu, too, has trusted the process, putting her body and mind through a conditioning programme tailored to improve her court endurance and help her adapt to the modern game, where rallies are getting longer.
“Winning the Japan Open has given her that confidence that she can now actually do well in the other major events like the World Championships and the Asian Games coming up after a month from now. All of us can actually expect something really big from Sindhu,” Sagar added.
Just how much the title meant to Sindhu became evident in her voice. “Very, very happy, just out of words. It was 19 months since I won (Syed Modi India International Super 300), and this was very important for me, because coming to the final is one thing, but to win and stand on the podium getting that gold is a different thing altogether,” she told BWF after winning the final.
That joy was more than just the relief of ending a long wait. It was a sign of Sindhu rediscovering her rhythm, confidence and, importantly, her body. Now free of injuries, she is in the best physical shape of her career, making her support staff confident of a remarkable campaign at the Delhi Worlds.
“I think all of us are pleasantly happy for her. You know, winning a 750 event… it was her first major title in 7 years. Her last big medal was the World Championships gold (Basel, 2019). She has won a 500 event and a 300 event in between. But a tournament of that level, she has not. You really have to admire her dedication. You know, she is always motivated to be on the court. We can see glimpses of old Sindhu right now,” Sagar told this website.
Sindhu swept aside every opponent at the Japan Open in straight games, overcoming the likes of Han Yue, Nozomi Okuhara, Chen Yufei and Yamaguchi on her way to the title.
“Especially some of the shots that she started hitting like overhead cross-court smashes that she has been using against almost every player. It was something that was missing for a long time, and she has been working very hard for that,” Sagar stated.
Wang, An and the hurdles ahead
However, Sindhu’s quest for a World Championships title on home soil faces a stern test, with a potential pre-quarterfinal clash against third seed Wang Zhi Yi looming. Wang is this year’s All England Open champion, having beaten World No. 1 An Se Young in the final to inflict the Korean’s only loss of the season in the summit clash.
But Sindhu remains a stumbling block in the Chinese women’s singles players’ quest for the World Championships gold. China has not won the title since Wang Yihan in 2011. Since making her Worlds debut in 2013, Sindhu has knocked out eight Chinese players at the tournament, including Wang Zhi Yi in 2025. The Chinese contingent will be hungrier than ever to end their long wait for the title.
While she has a formidable record against Chinese players, Sindhu will have another hurdle to clear, perhaps the biggest of her career – a potential semifinal clash against An Se Young, should both make it that far. Even at her peak, Sindhu could not beat An, losing all ten of her previous meetings.
Sindhu knows the challenge An will pose, but on home soil, she will enter the arena with an advantage her Korean rival will not have – the backing of a ruckus home crowd.