Ace Indian badminton player PV Sindhu was awarded the inaugural BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year on 8th March 2020.
She competed with four other strong sportswomen – Mary Kom in Boxing, Vinesh Phogat in Wrestling, Dutee Chand in Athletics, and Manasi Joshi in para-badminton – to win the award.
She was presented with the award in the presence of renowned sports persons at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi on International Women’s Day.
“I would like to dedicate this award to my supporters and fans that have supported me all along and also voted for me,” the 24-year-old said.
“Awards like BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year give us motivation and encouragement to go much further.
“My message to all young sportswomen is that as women we have to believe in ourselves. Hard work is the key to success. I’m sure soon there will be more Indian sportswomen winning medals for the country.”
At the same ceremony, former sprinter PT Usha was given the Lifetime Achievement award for her contribution to Indian sports.
Who is PV Sindhu?
Born on 5th July 1995 in the city of Hyderabad, PV Sindhu is one of the best badminton players in the world today. She broke into the top 20 of the BWF World Rankings in September 2012 at the age of merely 17.
In 2019, she became the first Indian to win the gold in the badminton World Championship held in Basel in Switzerland. Further, she became the first Indian singles badminton player to win an Olympic silver medal when she won it in 2016 in Rio. She has a whopping five World Championship medals in her kitty, apart from having two Asian Games medals.
Consistently ranked as one of the highest paid female athletes, Sindhu has also been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour.
Sindhu is also one of India’s foremost medal prospects at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Here is wishing PV Sindhu a fantastic and rewarding career ahead! May she continue to inspire millions of young girls in India and across the world to take up badminton professionally.
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