Sindhu recommended for Padma Bhushan

TIL Desk Sports/ Olympics silver medallist shuttler P V Sindhu has been recommended by the Sports Ministry for the prestigious Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian award. “Yes, we have recommended Sindhu for Padma Bhushan,” a Sports Ministry official said on Monday.

A two-time bronze medallist at the World Championships, Sindhu has risen rapidly up the rankings since becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal at the Rio Games last year.

The 22-year-old from Hyderabad won the 2016 China Open Super Series Premier, the India Open Super Series, a historic silver at the Glasgow World Championships last month and her third Super Series title at the Korea Open this month. A three-time Macau Open champion, she also won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow this year.

Riding on a series of good performances, Sindhu achieved a career-best world ranking of number two in April for a brief period. Last week, she returned to the No 2 ranking. In 2014, Sindhu won four bronze medals — at the Commonwealth Games, Incheon Asian Games, Uber Cup and Asia Championship.