The supposed on-field rivalry between PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, two ace Indian women shuttlers who have raised the standards of badminton in our country, have made headlines on several occasions. People have always wondered about their off-field relation though the two have preferred to remain tight-lipped about it. Recently, Sindhu opened up about the sort of camaraderie she shares with Saina:
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Sindhu described her bonding with Saina and said,
“We’re friends; like “Hi, Bye”… and that’s it. There’s no real time to sit and talk.”
Speaking about their rivalry, Sindhu said,
“The rivalry (with Saina) is always there. You always want to win when you play, and we have that aggression to win. But the rivalry is good in a way; it is just a fight in the match.”
After Saina Nehwal left coach Pullela Gopichand in 2014 to train under Olympian Vimal Kumar, Sindhu emerged as a sensational badminton player. She went on to win the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and then the 2017 World Championship.
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Three years later, Saina has returned to Gopichand’s academy and now practices alongside PV Sindhu at the same place in Hyderabad. “We play together during practice but there isn’t much time to get talk to each. We are occupied by our training sessions,” Sindhu further said.
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Sindhu won the India Open Superseries in New Delhi, while Saina is trying to come back strong from a bad patch she suffered from in 2016. She has since then regained her form and defeated Sindhu in the final of the National Championships in Nagpur.
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