India’s top medal prospects at Tokyo Olympics and their main challengers: PV Sindhu

At Rio 2016, a plucky 20-year-old named PV Sindhu defied all expectations to land the women’s singles badminton silver medal on her Olympic debut.

Since Rio, she has gone on to become the first Indian to win a BWF World Championships title, bagged the inaugural BWF World Tour Finals crown in 2018 and achieved a career-best ranking of world No.2.

Heading into Tokyo 2020, PV Sindhu will be one of the favourites for the gold.

Currently ranked seventh on BWF’s ‘Race to Tokyo’ rankings, PV Sindhu has had a mixed start to the Olympic year.

The Indian badminton star made a rather tepid start in Asia. Sindhu bowed out in the Round of 32 at the Yonex Thailand Open, made the last eight at the Toyota Thailand Open and was unable to go past the group stage at the 2020 BWF World Tour Finals.

In the European leg, PV Sindhu reached the final of the Swiss Open, losing to old rival Carolina Marin, and made the semis at the All England Open, where she fell to Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong.

While her form leading up to Tokyo 2020 hasn’t been the best, PV Sindhu has, time and again, shown her ability to rise up to big occasions. The Rio 2016 silver and the 2019 world championships gold represent some prime examples.

Moreover, PV Sindhu’s Olympic chances received a boost after defending Olympic champion Marin, who beat PV Sindhu in the 2016 final, withdrew from Tokyo 2020 due to injury.

However, Indian badminton star’s quest for gold in Tokyo will be far from easy. There are several other champion players who’re lying in wait.

Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)

Top achievements: Olympic bronze medallist (2016), world champion (2017), two-time All England winner (2016, 2021) 

What makes her special? The undoubted home favourite, third seed Nozomi Okuhara, will most likely be PV Sindhu’s biggest hurdle in Tokyo.

The PV Sindhu vs Nozomi Okuhara rivalry began at the junior level and has evolved into a modern-day classic.

A star at the youth level, having won the world junior championships in 2012, Okuhara transitioned seamlessly into the seniors, reaching tournament finals regularly. She even won two Grand Prix gold titles and the World Superseries final in 2015 at the age of 20.

Nozomi Okuhara became the first Japanese woman to win the prestigious All England Open in 2016. Incidentally, she fell to PV Sindhu in the Rio 2016 semi-finals but did claim the Olympic bronze.

In 2017, Okuhara emerged victorious against Sindhu in one of the most engrossing BWF World Championships finals and became world champion for the first time.

After an injury layoff, Okuhara helped team Japan to the Uber Cup title in 2018 and won silver at the BWF World Championships in 2019 before clinching her second All England title in 2021.

Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)

Top achievements: BWF World Tour Finals champion (2020), Asian Games champion (2018), three-time All England winner (2017, 2018, 2020)

What makes her special? Probably the best player to never win an Olympic medal or become world champion, Tai Tzu Ying will be looking to correct one of those records at the Tokyo Olympics.

Tai Tzu Ying’s talent was apparent in the junior levels but she was unable to win any titles. Her first senior title came at the 2011 US Open, a Grand Prix gold event, at the age of 17.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Tai Tzu Ying bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals to eventual champion Li Xuerui. Later in the year, she became the youngest player at the time to win a Superseries title with her Japan Open triumph.

Tai Tzu Ying won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games, her country’s first badminton medal at the continental showpiece and also won the Superseries finals that year.

After a title-less 2015, she rose to become world No. 1 for the first time in 2016 after winning the Indonesia Open and Hong Kong Open.

However, an Olympic medal eluded her at Rio 2016 as PV Sindhu beat her in the quarter-finals. In 2017, Tai Tzu Ying won her first All England title and defended it the next year.

She also won the Asian Championships in 2017 and 2018, the Asian Games gold in 2018 and claimed the 2020 BWF World Tour Finals title.

Heading into Tokyo 2020, Tai Tzu Ying is the top-ranked women’s singles badminton player in the world.

Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)

Top achievements: World champion (2013) and Asian champion (2015)

What makes her special? One of the best badminton players over the last decade, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon will be looking to win her maiden Olympic medal in Tokyo.

Ratchanok Intanon rose to fame when she became the youngest player to win the BWF World Junior Championships in 2009, at the age of 14.

Ratchanok retained that title for the next two years, winning in both 2010 and 2011.

She took part in the 2011 BWF World Championships when she was 16, falling to eventual champion Wang Yihan in the third round and exited the 2012 London Olympics in the last eight.

In 2013, Ratchanok Intanon reached the final of the All England Open, the youngest-ever to do so, but lost to Tine Rasmussen. She went on to become the then-youngest player to win a Superseries title at the India Open, at 18 years, 2 months and 22 days.

Her finest moment arrived at the 2013 World Championships, where Ratchanok beat the erstwhile Olympic champion and world No. 1 Li Xuerui in the final to become the youngest world champion and finished the year as world No. 3.

In 2015, Ratchanok became the Asian champion. At Rio 2016, however, she was halted by Akane Yamaguchi in the Round of 16. She rose to world No. 1 in 2016, becoming the first Thai player to do so.

Ratchanok Intanon made her second All England final in 2017, but was beaten by Tai Tzu Ying. She has won four BWF World Tour titles since 2018.

Besides the three, China’s Chen Yufei (world No. 2), Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (world No. 5), Thai youngster Pornpawee Chochuwong (world No. 10) and South Korea’s An Se Young (world No. 8), are some of the other top challengers standing in PV Sindhu’s way.