The historic city of Hyderabad has got an enviable place in the world map, not only because of its IT boom and business potential, but also for the world-class sports personas it has produced.
The latest one that is taking the sports world by storm is 16-year-old P V Sindhu, national junior numero uno in both singles and doubles badminton, who now has an enviable No 42 in world rankings.
In what looks like going a bit faster than Hyderabad’s own Saina Nehwal, Sindhu is not just an aspiring, title hungry wannabe. She has proved her mettle in a short span of time, making people sigh in disbelief at the adept moves of this young star.
Today, even as she grows in stature, the equations have altered dramatically. Yes, Sindhu has created quite a buzz in badminton circles.
A new star who emerged from the very stables at Pullela Gopichand Academy, this 5`10``, and lankly- built Sindhu has been scripting a fairy-tale run that is justifiably drawing comparisons with predecessor Saina.
In a significant irony to Saina’s career, what was her worst year in recent times is heralding Sindhu in a new avatar. Her watershed year, by all accounts, Sindhu has blossomed into a full-fledged badminton player in 2011.
Even as Saina faltered at the final hurdle in the Super Series final, thousands of miles away Sindhu gave an abject demonstration of her prowess by vanquishing the 2009 champion to come up trumps at the Tata Open India International Challenge at the National Sports Club of India to popular applause. Along the way, of course, she conquered formidable foreign opponents.
The comparisons between the two are actually unwarranted. Their playing styles are in complete contrast to each other. Saina is more athletically built whereas Sindhu hardly looks like a badminton player, at a first glance.
If Saina is awesome at the net, the teenager from Hyderabad is fleet-footed and makes optimal use of her long legs. Rallies and cannonball-type smashes are something of an anathema for Sindhu, whose single-point approach to the game revolves around one theme-showering one winner after the other.
Seeing the `tremendous’ potential in her, two biggies have embraced her-Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Olympic Gold Quest (OGC), which are handling her participations and travels with gusto.
Having created ripples with her prodigious talents, Sindhu found herself in envious ensembles from the moment she announced her arrival at the Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial India Junior International Championship in Pune and followed it up with the All India Senior Ranking Tournament at Atul. This is in addition to the bronze at the 2009 Junior Asian Championship held at Colombo.
Her inspiration and mentor, Gopichand, opines that Sindhu has a bright future ahead. She has the wherewithal to come good in the big league and make a mark on the global landscape.
According to veteran observers in badminton circles, Sindhu, the `brightest investment for the future’, will `go places’ on the strength of innate and languid court coverage and the unorthodox, but `effective playing’ style.
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