PV Sindhu wants to play for two more years, but is LA 2028 a bridge too far?

It’s hard to imagine that P.V. Sindhu, India’s badminton diva and two-time Olympics medallist, has gone without a BWF World Tour title for nearly two-and-a-half years. It must have hurt the former world No.1 enough that after ending the title drought at Syed Modi India International in Lucknow on Sunday, 1 December, all the ace posted on her social media was: ‘2 years, 4 months, and 18 days.’

The overriding emotion must have been one of huge relief, though, as Sindhu overcame a tricky left-hander in China’s Wu Luo Yu 21–14, 21–16 while compatriot Lakshya Sen also ended a barren run for more than a year when he tamed Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh 21–6, 21–7 in their respective finals at the BBD UP Badminton Academy in Lucknow. The event may not have been a top-tier one and the field was a bit diluted at the end of the season, but the win must have given the 29-year-old Sindhu a sense of purpose for the new year.

Unlike Lakshya, who is still in the early days of her career, Sindhu has been there and done that — but the past two years have been extremely trying for her with a combination of poor form and injuries. She kept on shuffling her coaching staff repeatedly with the backing of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the latest move being hiring Anup Sridhar till the end of the year as well as adding former world No. 1 Lee Hyun-il of the Republic of Korea as a consulting coach last September.

“This (win) will definitely give me a lot of confidence. Being 29 is an advantage in many ways because I have a lot of experience. Being smart and experienced is key and I’m definitely going to play for the next couple of years,” Sindhu said after the triumph.

Asked to share her thoughts on a possible crack at the Los Angeles 2028, Sindhu answered with a cryptic “Why not?”, though the reality is it’s thinking too far ahead and she will be 33 by that time.

“My main goal is to stay injury-free, which is important,” she told mediapersons. With badminton not being a part of the next Commonwealth Games in 2026, the realistic target for Sindhu could be the Asian Games in Japan that year.

 Most successful

“I believe she can continue for long if there are no injuries,” P.V. Ramana, the star’s father and former international volleyballer said recently. “Sindhu has nothing left to prove, but she still thinks she can aim at the Asian Games.”

Sindhu remains India’s most successful badminton player of all time. Apart from her silver at Rio 2016 and her bronze at Tokyo 2020, the Hyderabad girl is the only Indian to win a gold medal at the World Championships in 2019. She also has two silver and two bronze medals at the Worlds.

Sindhu, who claimed a silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, went without a medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou (2023) as well as the 2024 Paris Olympics, however.