Do we like P. V. Sindhu?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Nothing harmful turned up, she has spoken up for women and athletes and backed an environmental campaign, but the record we could verify is fairly thin.
Sindhu is one of India's best-known sportspeople, an Olympic silver medallist who was already headlining the sport's biggest events well before 2026. This year she has been on a bit of a rollercoaster: a long title drought, a run of tough losses, then a breakthrough in Tokyo.
The Japan Open in July was the high point. She beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 to win the title for the first time, ending a drought that went back to her 2024 Syed Modi International win in Lucknow. She said she had “tears in my eyes” afterwards, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a historic feat for Indian badminton.
The nearest thing to a stoush this year was at the Indonesia Masters in January. After a line call went against her while she was leading in the second game, she was shown a yellow card, then a red card for delaying play, and argued heatedly with match officials before losing to China's Chen Yufei. That is a sporting penalty rather than anything off-court, and the report we read doesn't quote her.
Her loudest complaint since has been about scheduling. After losing to Chen at the China Open in July, she posted on X about “About 16 hours for me between matches” and said she wished organisers “took care of everyone the same way”. In September she lost to Chen at the Asian Games after playing three matches in 18 hours, saying “One painful result cannot define a journey”. Fair or not, it is a complaint about conditions, and it is not aimed at any group of people.
The good stuff is quieter. She was named goodwill ambassador for WWF-India's Earth Hour in 2024, urging people to do something positive for the planet. In 2026 she became chair of the Badminton World Federation Athletes' Commission, which gives her a voting seat on the BWF Council and, in her words, a chance to represent the voices of athletes worldwide.
We found no court cases against her and no allegations of mistreating anyone. That is the honest extent of it: the record is short on scandal and a bit short on big public stands, which is why this is an 8 and not a 10.