Dubai: India’s badminton star PV Sindhu announced her engagement with fiancé Venkata Datta Sai through a social media post, reports said.
She posted an engagement ceremony picture on Instagram on Saturday, where the couple are seen feeding cake to each other. The image features a “Miss to Mrs” caption in the background.
“When love beckons to you, follow him, for love gives naught but itself - Kahlil Gibran 2024,” she captioned the post.
Badminton fans and showbiz industry members flooded the comment section to congratulate the couple, an Asian News International report said.
“Congratulations, you two,” Indian model and actress Neha Dhupia wrote.
Sindhu, 29, will marry Hyderabad-based businessman Datta Sai on December 22, according to reports quoting her father PV Ramana. He told the Press Trust of India that the wedding in Udaipur has been scheduled to facilitate her return to the international badminton circuit next season.
“So that is the reason the two families decided to have the marriage ceremony on December 22. The reception will be in Hyderabad on December 24. She will start her training soon after, as next season is important,” Ramana said.
Sindhu recently met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite him to the wedding.
“Always so special to spend time with you, sir. We are deeply grateful for your love, affection, and guidance, sir. It is truly amazing how you can discuss badminton with me and data with Datta so effortlessly,” she wrote on Instagram.
The two-time Olympic medallist and her fiancé Datta Sai also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The finance minister’s office shared the visual on Instagram.
The two also invited Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Minister of Mines G. Kishen Reddy, ANI reported.
Sindhu and Datta Sai had also called on cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar to invite him to their wedding.
Tendulkar took to his official social media handle to extend his best wishes. “Wishing you both a lifetime of smashing memories and endless rallies of joy!”Tendulkar wrote in a post on X.
Sharing details of the wedding, Sindhu’s father Ramana said, “The two families knew each other, but it was only a month ago that everything was finalised. This was the only possible window as her schedule will be hectic from January,” he told PTI.
The celebrations start with pre-wedding festivities on December 20 in the picturesque city of Udaipur. After the marriage on December 22, there will be a reception in Hyderabad two days later, her father added.
Sindhu recently ended her title drought of over two years, winning the Syed Modi India International badminton tournament in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
In the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour event final, she defeated China’s Wu Luo Yu in 47 minutes. Sindhu won 21-14, 21-16.
It was her first World Tour title since the Singapore Open in July 2022, a BWF Super 500 tournament. The Syed Modi India International is a BWF Super 300 tournament. In 2023 and this year, she reached the finals of the Spain Masters and Malaysia Masters but failed to win the title.
Sindhu, one of India’s most celebrated athletes, has won five World Championship medals, including the gold in 2019. Her Olympic success includes a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games and a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Her career-best world ranking was No. 2 in 2017.
