PETALING JAYA: Most athletes see their careers start to wind down after entering their 30s but Indian badminton star P.V. Sindhu (pic) continues to defy expectations.
The 31-year-old former world No. 1 offered another reminder that her best days may not be behind her as she powered to the Hylo Open women’s singles title on Sunday.
Sindhu, currently ranked eighth globally, needed just 39 minutes to dispatch Denmark’s world No. 25 Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 21-14, 21-12 at the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrucken, Germany.
Her seventh career victory over the Dane brought a second title this season, following her Japan Open triumph in July.
The 2019 world champion won both tournaments without dropping a game.
“They say 31 is the new 21. I’m not going to argue,” Sindhu wrote on social media after her triumph.
“Still chasing. Always.”
The results suggest those words carry weight, with Sindhu increasingly looking back to her best against younger opposition.
She also pushed South Korea’s 24-year-old world No. 1 An Se-young to a deciding game during her runner-up finish at the French Open two weeks ago.
“Yeah, I’m very happy and thankful to all my team who’ve been supporting me throughout.”
With the season-ending World Tour Finals approaching, the 2018 champion’s resurgence offers encouragement that she can challenge for the crown again.
Meanwhile, world No. 14 Lakshya Sen completed a singles double for India by dethroning Indonesia’s world No. 6 Jonatan Christie.
The 25-year-old controlled the 39-minute final to win 21-17, 21-10, securing his third consecutive victory over the former world No. 1.
Denmark’s Christian Faust Kjaer-Rasmus Kjaer claimed the men’s doubles title, while France’s reigning world champions Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue captured the mixed doubles crown.
In the women’s doubles final, Indonesia’s fifth seeds Amallia Pratiwi-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti stunned Taiwan’s top seeds Hsu Yin-Hui-Lin Jhihyun to take the title.
