After World Championship Title, Indian Badminton Has Hit Its Pinnacle & An Olympic Gold Beckons

Less than a year to Tokyo Olympics, Indian shuttlers made their intentions very clear - when PV Sindhu decimated Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7, to win the World Championships gold.

PTI

It was a first for an Indian, and a performance worthy of a champion. It was the moment that pronounced the real coming of Indian badminton and a fitting evidence of how far we have come in the sport.

AFP

It is not only a chapter of glaring glory, but also an example of bigger ambitions - that will only be settled by winning big laurels. A World Championship gold of which is only the start.

PV Sindhu had come agonisingly close to a top finish on four previous occasions, but had to settle for two silver and two bronze medals. She was not going to let this one go, not for a fifth time. She was full of appetite and minerals to change and script history.

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That she did, and how. A lop-sided final that 24 year-old completely dominated.

Indian shuttlers had a wonderful tournament, and it was made more memorable by Sai Praneeth, who won a bronze medal in the men's singles category. A gold and bronze at the World Championships is an outcome you would take any day.

IANS

These highly successful and noteworthy results have truly earmarked India as a worthy contender for Olympic gold at Tokyo next year. There are high hopes from badminton, and there are performances to back that up.

We are definitely not living in a bubble and not making unrealistic claims. PV Sindhu is a hot favourite for gold, but there is high expectation from the likes of Sai Praneeth, Srikanth Kidambi and Prannoy Kumar.

The mix doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa is also an outside favourite, having produced some optimistic and remarkable results off late.

IANS

After winning silver Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, PV Sindhu will be determined to go one better and capture the elusive gold for Indian badminton. India has become a real force to be reckoned with, and the shuttlers world wide know this for a fact.

AFP

The tag of Indian shuttlers being pushovers is a thing of distant past. Our shuttlers are now the present and the future. And anything less than a medal win is considered a failure - that is the standard now.

A badminton Olympic gold is a definite possibility, and PV Sindhi is our best and strongest bet. We are now standing shoulder to shoulder with the best, and we aren't giving anything away.

We have reached the pinnacle with PV Sindhu's win at World Championships, but a gold in Tokyo would take us a notch higher - in an exclusive group of greatness.

Get ready Tokyo, PV Sindhu is coming to take over.