"The world sees the medal....": PV Sindhu on her Olympic career
May 19, 2025
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 19 : India's two-time Olympic medalist shuttler PV Sindhu opened up on her win at the biggest sporting platform, saying that while the world sees the medal, a lot of things behind it go unseen.
Sindhu was speaking at FLAME University in Pune, Maharashtra on Sunday.
Speaking during the convocation address for the graduating batch of students, Sindhu summed up her hard journey towards two Olympics medals in few words, saying as per a press note, "The world sees the medal, but they do not see the 4 AM alarms, the tears, the losses, and the days you show up when you do not want to. At the Olympics, you do not just fight for a podium -- you fight for every invisible battle you have won to get there."
Sindhu won the silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics in women's singles competition, following it with a bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, making her the first-ever Indian woman to win two Olympic medals.
On how players deal with failure, she further added, "In sport, sometimes you do not just show up after failure -- sometimes you show up while literally breaking. And that is where champions are built."
Sindhu also said that if one wants to do something big in life, they will have to "fail for it".
"Repeatedly. Publicly. Sometimes, even hilariously," he added.
The ace shuttler shared personal anecdotes and hard-earned lessons from her career, striking an emotional chord with the audience. In a heartfelt moment during her speech, Sindhu spoke about her special connection with the university as her husband, Venkata Datta Sai, a businessman, is an alumnus of FLAME.
"This was not just a speech for me, it was personal. My husband studied here, and FLAME has shown up in so many moments of my life. Today felt like a beautiful full-circle moment -- finally attending a FLAME graduation and sharing the lessons I have learned from podiums, heartbreaks, and relentless early mornings," Sindhu said while addressing the students.
Notably, Sindhu will be aiming to win big in the Malaysia Masters tournament, starting from Tuesday onwards at the Stadium Axiata Arena KL Sports City in Bukit Jalil.
