World No.10 shuttler PV Sindhu wears the right attitude to Rio

Watching Saina Nehwal winning bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, PV Sindhu, an under-16 player from Hyderabad, dreamed herself standing at the coveted podium one day.

Next year, she made a promising start at the Guangzhou World Badminton Championship by clinching the bronze. She repeated the feat, a year after at Copenhagen, becoming the only Indian woman to have won two medals at the World Championships.

Now 20, Sindhu is looking forward to realising her dream to win an Olympic medal, and perhaps to take on Nehwal at Rio. Sindhu is in the Group M of women's singles category at Rio while Nehwal is in Group G.

Born to Arjuna awardee PV Ramana and P Vijaya, both former Volleyball players, Sindhu started playing badminton at a very young age and went on to join Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy. 

Ranked second among Indian women badminton players after her city-mate Nehwal, Sindhu is now placed at the tenth position in the world ranking with six international titles to her credit.

"If I know someone is training harder than I am, I have no excuses," reads the Facebook header of the six-feet tall shuttler.  

Gopichand, who groomed the player in Sindhu at a very young age, once praised her ‘never say die’ spirit and hard work.  Gopichand is still guiding her as she trains hard to win a medal in her first stint at the Olympics. "It won't be easy, but definitely, I hope to win a medal,” Sindhu told ESPN. “I will give my 100%."