They might be rivals on the court, but off the court, badminton champions PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin seem to share a friendly bond.
On Monday, 8 January, Spain’s Marin shared a picture with Sindhu, whom she had defeated in the finals of the Rio Olympics, with a caption saying, “It's much more than just badminton”.
Premier Badminton League Bring the Two Together
The Olympic rivals are playing for different teams in the ongoing Premier Badminton League. While Sindhu is playing for Chennai Smashers, Marin is a part of Hyderabad Hunters.
Currently, Marin’s Hyderabad Hunters are ranked at the second place in the league, which has eight teams in total, whereas Sindhu’s Chennai Smashers are at the fifth position.
On-Court Encounters
Sindhu and Marin, who can be seen sharing a nice moment in the picture posted by the latter, have faced each other several times on the badminton court.
In August 2016, Marin played and defeated Sindhu in the final of Rio Olympics, where the Indian Olympian bagged her first silver.
Sindhu avenged her heart-breaking loss at the Rio Games with a thrilling straight-game victory in a do-or-die women's singles Group B contest and sealed her place at the semifinals of the BWF World Super Series Finals at Dubai in December 2016.
In a much-anticipated contest, Sindhu had come up trumps against Marin. The Indian dished out an energetic performance to see off a fighting Marin 21-17, 21-13 in a hard-fought battle.
In April 2017, Sindhu overcame Marin in straight games to win her maiden India Open Super series title in New Delhi. That match-up between Sindhu and Marin was a repeat of the Olympics final. But with Indian fans on her side at her home turf, Sindhu triumphed with a 21-19, 21-16 scoreline in 46 minutes.
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