PV Sindhu’s poor run in recent times - Can the Indian shuttler turn it around before Asian Games 2023?

Indian badminton fans have cause to worry about the future of PV Sindhu’s career. In recent months, the two-time Olympic medallist has gone through a miserable run of form in BWF World Tour events.

In the most recent event, the Australian Open, the Indian player lost the quarterfinal to USA’s Beiwen Zhang in straight games, 21-12, 21-17. In a tournament that was devoid of most, if not all, of the current leading names in women’s singles badminton, this performance was another major disappointment for the Indian star.

Prior to the Australian Open, she suffered shocking defeats in the Round of 32 of both the Japan Open and the Korea Open. Going further back, she lost in the quarterfinals of the US Open and the semis of the Canada Open.

In fact, she has lost in the opening round – Round of 32 – in seven out of 14 World Tour events this year, including the prestigious All England Open. Her best performance came in the Madrid Spain Masters 2023, where she made it to the final but lost in the summit clash to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.

It’s worth noting that in this tournament, Sindhu didn’t come across a high-profile opponent in her journey to the final. Even Tunjung is a second-rung player in the hierarchy of women’s singles badminton.

Is PV Sindhu's decline in form terminal?

PV Sindhu has lost in the Round of 32 seven times this year in BWF World Tour events

So, is PV Sindhu witnessing an irreversible decline in her career? Such pronouncements can always be dangerous as players can make a strong comeback even after they are past their prime. Roger Federer is a great example of that.

In the case of Sindhu, her career has followed such a bizarre trajectory that optimistic fans still have a lot of hope. The Indian shuttler has shown a tendency in the past to look listless in non-major events and then suddenly spring to life in mega tournaments.

This pattern started in 2018. She didn’t have much success in the World Tour events but came into her own in the World Championships and Asian Games of that year, losing in the finals of both.

At this stage, the biggest problem that Sindhu had been facing was her inability to win the finals. She had lost in two consecutive World Championship finals, a World Superseries Finals final, an Asian Games final, and even on home turf in the India Open 2018 final.

Then, she finally overcame this jinx at the 2018 World Tour Finals final, defeating Nozomi Okuhara in the summit clash. With her finals hoodoo exorcised, the World Championship title seemed imminent.

However, after her World Tour Finals win, she went into a complete tailspin of form. The shuttler from Telangana looked listless in World Tour events and endured a spate of bad results in the first half of 2019. But once again, cometh the hour, cometh the woman.

She finally ended India’s long wait for a World Championships title by thrashing Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in one of the most one-sided finals in the tournament’s history.

Downhill from the summit

That win marked the peak of Sindhu’s career. She was officially the world champion. However, since that title, things have only gone downhill.

Her ordinary performances in World Tour events have continued. But most worryingly, her ability to rise to the occasion on the big stage has disappeared. Since the 2019 World Championships win, she hasn’t reached the final of any major event except the World Tour Finals of 2021.

That tournament too had an easy group stage with most leading women’s singles players not participating. She did defeat Yamaguchi in the semis but lost to South Korea’s An Se Young.

So, what has gone wrong for the Queen of Indian badminton? Her ordinary results from the World Tour events are not the biggest issue, though her utterly poor run of form in them should worry everyone.

What is even more worrying is her inability to regularly reach the finals of the big events. That doesn’t bode well for the upcoming World Championships, Asian Games, and then, the Olympics next year.

What has gone missing from PV Sindhu's play?

To understand what’s plaguing PV Sindhu’s on-court results, we must go back to her highest achievement – the World Championships win in 2019.

The semi-final and final, against Chen Yufei and Okuhara, respectively, were one-sided matches where Sindhu steamrolled her opponents. The match that justified her ascension to the status of World Champion was the quarterfinal against Tai Tzu-ying.

Sindhu with her Olympic silver medal at Rio Games

Tai was in her prime at the time and played superbly. But Sindhu showed unmatched resilience and tenacity. The Taiwanese shuttler threw everything at her, but Sindhu just kept fighting and resisting and eventually won the match 12-21, 23-21, 21-19.

And that’s what it comes down to in badminton more often than not – the hunger to win. PV Sindhu used to be an altogether different beast in big tournaments because she was willing to fight till her last ounce of energy for every point. This utter desperation went missing in non-major events.

The body language that Sindhu often displays in World Tour events suggests lack of patience, irritability, and despair. This is in sharp contrast to her over-my-dead-body approach in big events, at least untill the 2019 World Championships.

If PV Sindhu wants to climb to the top of the women’s singles badminton ladder, that untiring perseverance has to be rekindled. She is 28 years old, so age isn’t that big an issue. However, at this moment, things are looking much tougher in women’s singles division.

Akane Yamaguchi has reached an unmatched level of perfection in her game. An Se Young is back to winning tournaments with her brilliant skills. Chen Yufei continues to make a mark in major events and Tai Tzu-Ying remains the most skilled player. Ratchanok Intanon is still managing to compete with the big names. Carolina Marin hasn’t recovered her past flair but she is in the game.

With so many challengers in the fray, the coming days will be tough for Sindhu. Unless she can re-access those deep reserves of stamina that made her successful in the past, she may struggle to win any big titles in the future.