PV Sindhu’s recent feat in BWF World Championships of Badminton made India’s heart soar with pride. We can slowly see a change in the sports culture where sports other than cricket are getting their due recognition they rightfully deserve. For a very long time, cricket dominated the scene, but recent times have suggested that other sports are also being encouraged.
PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal’s outstanding performance in the BWF World Championships of Badminton inspired me to throw light on some of the women badminton players of India who have time and again made us proud
- Arundhati Pantawane
Born in 1989, Arundhati Pantawane hails from the state of Maharashtra. She is an Indian female badminton singles player. Pantawane won a gold medal at the 2011 National Games, and a silver at the 75th Senior National Badminton Championships. Coached by Pullela Gopichand, she holds the Bahrain International Challenge 2012 title. She recently married Arun Vishnu, a multiple-time national doubles champion.
- Ashwini Ponnappa
Ashwini Ponnappa was born in Bangalore, Karnataka in the year 1989. She represents India internationally in both the women’s and mixed doubles discipline. She, along with Jwala Gutta, has been ranked among the top 20 in the BWF World Rankings. Asnwini won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in 2011, and a gold medal in women’s doubles in 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. Her recent victory includes a gold in women’s doubles in South Asian Games 2016 held in Guwahati.
- SainaNehwal
Saina Nehwal hails from Hisar, Haryan, and was born in the year 1990. Having achieved remarkable success at an age of 27 years, she has become extremely popular. In 2015, she attained world number 1 ranking, hence becoming the only female badminton player from India, and overall second Indian player after Prakash Padukone, to achieve such an astounding accomplishment. She was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, and the Arjuna Award by the Government. In 2016, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Bhushan Award.
- PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu currently holds rank number 4 in the BWF World Ranking. She won a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics becoming the only woman player apart from Saina Nehwal to have won an Olympic medal. Coached by Puella Gopichand, Sindhu is a right-handedplayer. Her recent match with Nazomi Okuhara at the World Badminton Championships in Glasgow was the second longest women’s singles match bringing the viewers at the edge of their seats.
- Jwala Gutta
Jwala Gutta along with Ashwini Ponnappa have been ranked among the top 20 BWF World ranking in 2015. She has won the National Badminton Championships fourteen times. She has won a bronze medal in the 2011 BWF World Championships and one at the 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup. She has made India proud at many occasions and continues to inspire young badminton players.
Feature Image Credits: www.india.com
Anukriti Mishra
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