The only Indian badminton players to win medals at Olympics

Badminton is one of the most interesting sports in the world and quite popular among the Indians. The popularity of badminton in India has contributed much to the country's recent Olympic success. Talented badminton players from India have won medals in each of the last three Olympic Games, making a fantastic showing for the sport.    

3 things you need to know 

• India has won three medals in badminton at the Olympics
• All three medals came from the female contingent 
• India is yet to win a gold medal in the Olympics 

PV Sindhu followed in Saina Nehwal's footsteps, becoming the second Indian badminton player to earn an Olympic medal, with Nehwal's historic performance coming in 2012. Sindhu won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, and a bronze medal in Tokyo in 2020. Let's take a closer look at the incredible paths taken by these two Indian badminton legends on their way to the Olympic glory.  

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Saina Nehwal – Bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics

Saina started her season with two decisive victories over Sabrina Jacquet (21-9, 21-4) and Lianne Tan (21-4, 21-14), while suffering from a viral fever. She defeated Yao Jie (21-14, 21-16) in the round of 16, paving the way for a difficult quarterfinal matchup with Tine Baun. After a fiercely fought encounter, Saina prevailed in two close sets (21-15, 22-20), taking a step closer to winning a medal.

Saina's dreams of making it to the championship match were, however, short-lived when Wang Yihan, the world champion, soundly beat her in the semifinal with a score of 21-13, 21-13.

Saina's perseverance paid off, though, as she was able to win the bronze medal. By a fortunate break, Wang Xin, her opponent, quit early in the second set after winning the opening set 21–18. Saina Nehwal became the first badminton player from India to proudly stand on the Olympic podium as a result of her accomplishment.

Image: X/Saina Nehwal

PV Sindhu – Silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics

Sindhu, who was 21 years old, started her Rio journey with a strong showing. She beat Laura Sarosi (21-8, 21-9) and Michelle Li (19-21, 21-15, 21-17) in her group matches to easily earn a spot in the top 16.

For the next round, she played Tai Tzu-Ying, who would go on to become one of the best players in the sport. Even though Tai Tzu was a tough opponent, Sindhu beat her by a score of 21-13, 21-15, earning her spot in the quarterfinals.

The toughness of Sindhu's fight against Wang Yihan showed through as she won a hard-fought 22–20, 21–19 victory, earning her spot in the semi-finals.

There was one more win for PV Sindhu to become the most successful Indian badminton player at the Olympics. Sindhu beat Nozomi Okuhara in the semis, showing how dominant she was. This earned her a spot in the final on her first Olympic day.

In the final, Sindhu beat Carolina Marin in the first set, but she couldn't keep up the good work and ended up with a silver medal after losing the next two sets (21-19, 12-21, 15-21).

In her first Olympics, PV Sindhu played so well that she won the silver medal. This made her one of India's best badminton players ever on the Olympic scene.

Image: PTI

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PV Sindhu – Bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and cancelled many other events, PV Sindhu was the only Indian woman to make it to the women's doubles event.

With Carolina Marin's injury absence, Sindhu became one of the top contenders in Tokyo after winning the silver medal in Rio 2016. She once again showed how strong she was by beating Cheung Ngan Yi (21-9, 21-16) and Ksenia Polikarpova (21-7, 21-10), which earned her a spot in the knockout rounds.

After beating Mia Blichfeldt (21-15, 21-13) in the round of 16, Sindhu met Asian winner Akane Yamaguchi (21-13, 22-20) in the quarterfinals, which was a tough match. After winning, she faced off against her old foe Tai Tzu-Ying in the semi-finals.

This time, though, Tai Tzu won. In the second-to-last round, Sindhu lost to the world number one in a close match (21–18, 21–12). Sindhu's Olympic trip wasn't for nothing, even though she lost. She showed how tough she was by beating He Bing Jiao to get the third title and a well-deserved spot on the podium.  

Image: PTI