P.V. Sindhu eyes World Championship title on home soil, says winning for the country would be all she could ask for
P.V. Sindhu told The Hindu in Hyderabad on August 13, 2026 that winning the Badminton World Championships on home soil would be all she could ask for as she prepares to bid to reclaim the title she won in Basel in 2019.
Sindhu, 31, is described in the interview as the face of Indian badminton and has five World Championship medals to her name. She made her Worlds debut at 18 in 2013, returning with a bronze, and added another bronze in 2014, silvers in 2017 and 2018, and gold in 2019. Recent results include quarterfinal exits in 2021 and 2025, a stress fracture-related withdrawal in 2022, and a second-round exit in 2023.
On the prospect of the World Championships being held at home, Sindhu said: “Playing at home is always good and exciting; our athletes will get to see a lot of top-level players up close… so much to look forward to,” Sindhu told The Hindu.
Reflecting on how the sport and her relationship with the game have changed since she was a child attending the Hyderabad stadium, she said: “It was a long time back. I was a small kid who used to come to the stadium every single day, running from here to there. When I look back, I wonder what I was even doing. But from then until now, badminton as a sport has evolved so much. The support has been amazing – from the governments at both levels, the sports authorities and other sponsors.”
Sindhu credited the wider team around players for progress in performance and recovery, saying: “A player might win medals – that’s one thing, and yes, infrastructure and the sponsors and support systems matter. But there’s also the work behind the scenes by the coaches and support staff. When we’re injured or not able to give our best, it’s their job to get us back on court as fit as possible, so they deserve a lot of credit for taking us all to the next level.”
She framed the 2019 World gold as a turning point for her career and described changes in her approach to the sport: “The whole game style – the way one thinks – changes a lot. I am more experienced now. Back then, we were just playing, making mistakes, accepting it and moving on. Now, we are more mature about what needs to change and how to make those changes happen. Even injury management has changed, physically and mentally. The changing support also made a big difference. Sponsor support, even from government schemes like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, ensured that whenever I needed anything, it was made available to me. So, it’s been a different journey altogether, from when I started to now.”
No longer an underdog, and fresh from a historic win at the Japan Open recently, Sindhu will hope to snap that drought at home this time.
Summing up her approach to the tournament, she said: “Irrespective of the medal, I want to give my best and play my game. I’ve worked hard, so I want to put in all my effort into this tournament. If I do get a medal, I’ll be more than happy, because winning it on home soil, for the country, is all I could ask for.”