Badminton
Did you know Sindhu's arch-rival Tai Tzu-Ying has a PhD?
PV Sindhu's arch-rival and Tokyo silver medallist Tai-Tzu-Ying aside from being a deception queen in badminton also holds a PhD degree from the University of Taipei and is now, Dr Tai.
Tai Tzu-Ying and PV Sindhu share a great rivalry on the court but are good friends off it (Source: Getty)
When PV Sindhu will be meeting World No. 2 Chinese Taipei shuttler Tai Tzu-Ying in the second-straight quarter-final in two weeks, this time at the Malaysia Masters 2022 Super 500, she will be actually meeting a certain Dr Tai Tzu-Ying.
The Taiwanese badminton sensation who is one of Sindhu's greatest rivals on the court has added a new prefix in front of her name by getting a doctorate degree in June 2022 from the University of Taipei's Graduate Institute of Sports Training.
Apart from having a penchant for defeating Sindhu, boasting of a sparkling record of leading 16-5 against the 2-time Indian Olympic medallist shuttler, Tai has treated her education with equal importance.
The 28-year-old gave her final examination on June 9, just a day before she was to travel for the Indonesia Open 2022.
"Although athletics are very demanding, you must not give up your studies. By increasing your knowledge it will also help your career in sports," Tai Tzu-Ying said in a pre-recorded speech before the ceremony.
Fresh from obtaining her doctorate, the powerhouse that is Tai overcame China's Wang Zhi Yi to clinch the Indonesia Open 2022.
"You can use a more scientific perspective to solve problems you encounter. When you encounter difficulties, you can cry, you can be sad, but you must never give up. I believe that if you stick to it, you will never have any regrets when looking back. We only have one life, let's work hard together."
According to reports, Tai's academic career has been spent entirely at the University of Taipei where she completed her bachelor's, and master's and now collected a doctoral degree from.
On the other hand, the PhD holder - Dr Tai, shares a special rivalry with Sindhu, who finds it very difficult to beat the queen of deception.
Sindhu has managed to outsmart her arch-rival a mere five times, a concerning number that has made Pullela Gopichand mention that he will speak to Sindhu's coach, Park Tae-Sang.
READ | Will speak to Sindhu's coach to sort out her issues against Tai Tzu: Pullela Gopichand
After her semi-final defeat against Tai in the Tokyo Olympics that crushed Sindhu's gold medal dream, the Indian faced her sixth successive defeat against the Taiwanese in the recent Malaysia Open 2022.
While Tai collected her 16th win over Sindhu, she found herself defeated at the hands of Olympic gold medallist Chen Yu Fei in the semi-finals, again.
The current World No.7 in Sindhu will be looking to get that all-important sixth win over Dr Tai and progress into the Malaysia Masters semi-finals now.
