On the morning of 19 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, a tall, thin twenty-one-year-old from Hyderabad walked onto a badminton court at the Riocentro and, in a 90-minute final against the Spanish world number one Carolina Marín, became the first Indian woman ever to win an Olympic silver medal in any sport. Five years later, in Tokyo, she added a bronze. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is, by any honest measure, the most decorated Indian badminton player in history — and the only Indian, male or female, to win two individual Olympic medals. Behind every smash and every defensive return sat a deeply remarkable household: a former India volleyball player father, a former India volleyball player mother, an elder sister, and now a young husband and partner she married in December 2024.

The Family's Roots: Telugu Volleyball Royalty

The Pusarla family belongs to the Telugu community of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with deep roots in the Krishna district of coastal Andhra. Sindhu herself was born in Hyderabad on 5 July 1995 into one of the most decorated sporting households in modern India: both her parents had played volleyball for India.

Her Father: PV Ramana — The Arjuna Award Volleyball Captain

Pusarla Venkata Ramana was the captain of the Indian men's volleyball team during the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. He played for India through the 1980s and was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2000 for his services to Indian volleyball.

Since retirement, he has worked at the Indian Railways and remained close to the sporting world. He is — by Sindhu's accounts — the parent who first noticed her physical aptitude, drove her to the Gopichand Academy every morning before sunrise from age eight onwards, and remained her most consistent supporter through her teenage years on the international junior circuit.

Her Mother: P Vijaya — The Other International Volleyball Player

P. Vijaya also played national-level volleyball for India. The two were teammates at various national tournaments before they married. Vijaya is a homemaker now and the parent who manages the day-to-day logistics of Sindhu's international travel calendar.

Her Elder Sister: Divya Ramana

Sindhu has one elder sibling, Pusarla Divya Ramana, who is a medical doctor. Divya is married to Sai Tej Kumar and has chosen a quiet professional career in medicine, well away from the cameras that follow her sister.

Her Coach: Pullela Gopichand — Almost a Family Member

The man without whom Sindhu's career would have been impossible — and who is widely treated by the Pusarla family as a third parent — is Pullela Gopichand, the 2001 All England Open champion who founded the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad in 2008 and coached India to its first Olympic singles medal (Saina Nehwal's 2012 bronze) and then to Sindhu's medals in 2016, 2020, and beyond.

Her Husband: Venkata Datta Sai — The Hyderabad Entrepreneur

In December 2024, Sindhu married Venkata Datta Sai, a Hyderabad-based entrepreneur from a Telugu business family. The wedding took place at the Udaipur Leela Palace in Rajasthan over three days of celebration, with both Telugu and north Indian rituals.

Datta Sai is the executive director of Posidex Technologies, a Hyderabad software company. He met Sindhu through a mutual family connection, and the marriage was an arranged alliance with the families' approval.

The Pusarla Family Tree at a Glance

Community / Origins

  • Telugu community of Andhra Pradesh / Telangana
  • Family home: Hyderabad

Parents

  • Father: Pusarla Venkata Ramana — captain of India volleyball team, 1986 Asian Games; Arjuna Award 2000
  • Mother: P. Vijaya — former India volleyball player

Siblings

  • Pusarla Divya Ramana (elder sister) — medical doctor; married Sai Tej Kumar
  • Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (b. 5 July 1995) — badminton player

PV Sindhu

  • Born 5 July 1995, Hyderabad
  • Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy from age 8
  • 2013 BWF World Championships bronze
  • Rio Olympics 2016 — silver (first Indian woman with an Olympic silver in any sport)
  • 2019 BWF World Champion (Basel)
  • Tokyo Olympics 2020 — bronze
  • Padma Shri (2015), Padma Bhushan (2020), Khel Ratna (2016), Arjuna Award (2013)
  • Member of Indian Parliament (Padma awardee MP candidate considerations; remains a player)

Husband: Venkata Datta Sai

  • Telugu entrepreneur; Executive Director, Posidex Technologies
  • Married Sindhu in December 2024, Udaipur

The Two Olympic Medals

Sindhu's career has produced moments that have permanently reshaped Indian women's sport. The Rio 2016 silver, the Basel 2019 World Championship gold (still the only such gold by an Indian), and the Tokyo 2020 bronze form, together, the most complete badminton career any Indian has ever produced.

She continues to compete and remains one of India's most recognised sporting brands.

What the Pusarla Family Story Teaches Us

The Sindhu story is the modern Indian sporting family story written at its most concentrated. Two parents who played the same sport at the national level. A father who was awarded the Arjuna Award. A mother who was an India teammate before she was a wife. An elder sister who chose medicine over sport. A coach who became a third parent. A new husband from a Hyderabad tech family.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Sindhu story carries the same lesson. The professions of the parents shape the children. The Arjuna-Award father and the India-volleyball mother were the precondition for the Olympic silver. Write down what your parents did. Write down what your grandparents did. Those careers are the soil from which the children grow.

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