PV Sindhu had a stellar 2016 in which she became the first Indian woman to bag an Olympic silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro. (Source: AP) PV Sindhu had a stellar 2016 in which she became the first Indian woman to bag an Olympic silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro. (Source: AP)

PV Sindhu has risen to a career best BWF ranking of no. five. With 69399 points, she overtook Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (68149) to go fifth, as per the latest rankings released on Wednesday. This is the first time that Sindhu has broken into the top five.

Saina Nehwal is the only other Indian to feature in the top 10 of the latest BWF rankings at ninth. Saina had a rather forgettable year in 2016 as she had been out for most of the year due to a knee injury. Sindhu, in contrast, had probably the best year of her career as she won the Silver Medal at the Rio Olympics. In the process, she became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal and only the second Indian to win a badminton Olympic medal after Saina.

Sindhu then went on to win the Chinese Open, her first ever Super Series triumph. She then almost got a second Super Series title on the trot but went down in the final of the Hong Kong Open. Sindhu has most recently won the Syed Modi International Grand Prix.

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