The 2020 season’s only just started but PV Sindhu and Sai Praneeth have their eyes on just one tournament - the Tokyo Olympics.
India’s top women’s and men’s badminton players, Sindhu and Sai are currently within the Olympic qualification mark and are looking set to make the cut ahead of the April 28 qualification deadline. Both products of the Gopichand Academy, Sindhu and Sai have grown up together training at the centre and saw their careers cross paths when they both finished on the podium at the 2019 World Championships. Sindhu became the first India ever to win a gold medal last year at the Worlds while Sai became the first Indian man in 36 years to win a medal at the tournament, when he finished with a bronze.
The 27-year-old capped off the year by getting married to his fiance while Sindhu ended the season with a string of first-round exits that have put her Olympic hopes under the scanner.
The Quint caught up with the pair in Hyderabad on the sidelines of the Premier Badminton League and spoke to them about the Worlds medals, Sai’s wedding and also their hopes and dreams for the year ahead.
(This article has been republished from The Quint’s archives to mark PV Sindhu's 26th birthday. It was first published on 7 February 2020.)
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