India's star shuttler PV Sindhu will not participate in the upcoming World Championship to be held in Tokyo from August 28 after suffering a stress fracture injury on the left ankle. The 27-year-old, who recently clinched a gold medal at Commonwealth Games in women's singles, will now go through rehabilitation.
Notably, Sindhu suffered ankle injury during her CWG 2022 campaign but still went on to win women's singles final against Michelle Li of Canada. After returning to India, she informed that it was bit hard for her to play the final with the injury as her foot was in pain the entire time. "The pride to represent the country at such a bigger stage kept me motivated and inspired to bear all the pain," she said.
She further asserted that winning gold at Commonwealth Championship was important for her as she missed the opportunity to win the medal in the last two editions of the competitions. In Glasgow CWG, Sindhu lost to Michelle Li in the semi-final and had to settle for the bronze, while in Gold Coast, the shuttler lost to compatriot Saina Nehwal in the final to settle with Silver.
"There were many people who were vouching for me throughout the tournament from Day 1 of the Birmingham Games. Whenever I hear 'Sindhu Sindhu' it motivates to me highest degree. That kind of support gave me confidence, I really liked it and it pumps me to the core. I was in the game zone due to which I forgot the pain and focused on winning the game so that I can make everyone proud", Sindhu said.
"I desperately wanted to win Gold for India. I decided to leave my pain behind since I wanted to play for my country. I wanted this medal for a long time and finally got one for the country. There is a bit of stress but I think resting should be fine," the shuttler further added.
Sindhu stormed into the final after winning her Round of 23 match against Fathimath Nabaaha Razzaq of Maldives by a 2-0 margin. Earlier, Sindhu defeated Uganda's Husina Kobugabe 2-0 in her Round of 16 game and won the quarterfinal against Malaysia's Jin Wei Goh 2-1 to advance to the next stage of the women's singles event. She registered easy victory against Jia Min Yeo of Singapore 2-0 in the semifinal to book a spot in the final.