PV Sindhu’s bid for an incredible sixth BWF World Championship medal comes down to her quarterfinal contest against Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia. The 30-year-old Indian stunned world no. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China in the round-of-16 clash to set up the opportunity for another Worlds medal.
Sindhu, who won her first bronze medal at the Worlds in 2013 as an 18-year-old, followed it up with another bronze in 2014. Two silvers were earned in 2017 and 2018, before Sindhu finally became world champion in 2019.
The Indian badminton legend has suffered a disappointing few years, coming up empty handed in the Paris Olympics while also enduring a spate of early exits on the 2025 BWF World Tour – not going past the second round in any of her last nine tournaments.
However, her performance against Wang was vintage Sindhu – bringing back memories of previous performances at the Worlds.
PV Sindhu unleashes old hits in bid to win sixth World Championship medal
Speaking to BWF after the match, Sindhu outlined her strategy, saying “I was prepared for everything. I was prepared for long rallies. She [Wang] was sometimes changing the speed, playing those long rallies, and then hitting those half-smashes. I was ready. It was important for me to be on my feet every time, because she has those surprising shots at times.”
“Obviously there’s not much to prove,” Sindhu continued. “Last year or this year, in the beginning, it was not a good run for me. There were lots of ups and downs, and also there were injuries where, things have not actually happened according to what I wanted. But I think the training that I’ve done, after the earlier round exits, me and my coach discussed what was happening and I think we’ve been focusing on that.”
Wardani represents a tricky opponent for Sindhu, with the Indonesian having romped past her in their most recent meeting – a 12-21, 13-21 loss for Sindhu at the Sudirman Cup earlier this year. Overall, the pair share two wins over the other. Should Sindhu defeat Wardani, she will set up a semifinal clash against either Han Yue or Akane Yamaguchi, while also earning her sixth Worlds medal.
With very few pre-tournament expectations given poor form, the 2025 BWF World Championships have proven surprising for Indian fans. The mixed doubles pairing of Dhruv Kapila / Tanisha Crasta and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty are also in quarterfinal action today, as the Indian contingent bid to seal an unprecedented three medals at the Worlds.
You can follow all the action from the 2025 Badminton World Championships in our live blog, below:
