England now beckons PV Sindhu

It was Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand who broke some myths to lift the Indian badminton. Later on, the country’s women badminton players outscored their male counterparts to surge ahead in the medal--hunt at different tournaments. Saina Nehwal initially stole the thunder only to be joined by the effervescent Puserla Venkata Sindhu who took the world badminton by storm. No matter what, All England Open is the dream of every player, and the All England Open Super Series Premier,  which kickstarts at England’s Birmingham on March 14 in particular beckons Sindhu. It was a slip between the cup and the lip for the lanky Sindhu in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2017 Glasgow World Championships where she was the runner-up to Carolina Marin and Nozomi Okuhara respectively.

In both, the Indian girl went down fighting as nerves and fatigue got the better of her in matches which went down to the wire. She conquered Marin and Okuhara in subsequent tournaments. Third seeded Sindhu may or may not face either of the two at Birmingham. But the point is that she can thwart any challenge. Seeded third this year, Sindhu has not have an impressive All England Open Championship career as she was unable to pass through the quarter-finals. The world’s sixth ranked player has the chance to change all that now with her agility, confidence and reflexes. If she keeps her cool and endurance, we may as well see her on the winning podium on March 18.