Hyderabad: After her success at the BWF World Championships last Sunday, the reigning women’s singles world champion – PV Sindhu of India has her parents to thank for her achievement in badminton.
Sindhu’s father – PV Ramana, and mother – P Vijaya, are both former volleyball players. When Sindhu started practicing badminton seriously at the age of 8, her father who was part of the Indian volleyball team that won bronze at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, used to travel 60 km one way to take her to for training at Pullela Gopichand’s Academy.
J. B. S. Vidyadhar, a former India men’s doubles player spoke about the sacrifice of her father that went into making Sindhu a world-class player.
“Waking up every day at 3 AM and taking Sindhu for training close to 12 years is not a joke. From Marredpally her father used to drop and pick her up from Gopichand’s Academy at Gachibowli, driving 60-kilometer twice a day.”
Ramana has instilled sporting discipline in Sindhu from an early age, he was very strict to Sindhu especially during her training and practice.
“I always believed that she would conquer the world. Today, she made me very proud. I had tears in my eyes. She missed the gold very narrowly twice but today she was on top from the first point,” said Ramana to Indian media last Sunday after Sindhu won the world title in Basel, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Sindhu’s mother, Vijaya, was also a volleyball player herself, playing for the Railways.
“Sindhu has always been very dedicated. She is the one who decided to learn badminton and make something of herself. It’s not like we did anything special for her. Sometimes, she works so hard, that as a mother I wonder how she does it,” says Vijaya to Indian media.
In addition to working a full-time job, Vijaya was able to give the young Sindhu support she needed and ensuring her daughter was eating enough healthy diet when Sindhu was growing up.
Coincidentally, Sindhu became world champion on her mother’s birthday and she dedicated her gold medal to her mother.
“I dedicate this medal to my mother. It’s her birthday today,” said Sindhu during the post-match interview.
After all the unconditional love and support from her parents in grooming her to be a World Champion, her World title was a fitting tribute to the sacrifices made by her parents. Congratulations again!
