PV Sindhu, the Indian badminton star and two-time Olympic medallist has been elected Chair of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Athletes’ Commission for the 2026–2029 cycle, according to Olympics.com. With this appointment, Sindhu is set to take a seat on the BWF Council, ensuring direct representation of athletes in the sport’s global decision-making body.
Two-time Olympic medallist continues leadership role in world badminton
Sindhu has been part of the BWF Athletes’ Commission since 2017 and has served as a BWF Integrity Ambassador since 2020. Expressing her appreciation for the same, she said “To be entrusted with this responsibility by fellow athletes is an honour I carry with humility and gratitude. I would also like to sincerely acknowledge Greysia Polii for the exceptional work she has done in the previous term,” as quoted by Olympics.com.
Polii is a Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist who retired in 2022 and served twice on the Athletes’ Commission, most recently from 2021 to 2025.
As India’s most successful badminton player, Sindhu won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics and bronze at Tokyo 2020. She is also set to captain India at the 2026 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Qingdao, China.
Debora Jille named Deputy Chair; global stars included in commission
The Deputy Chair of the commission will be Debora Jille of the Netherlands, a European Games women’s doubles silver medallist and other members will include reigning Olympic women’s singles champion An Se-young of South Korea, six-time African Games medallist Doha Hany of Egypt, and Paris 2024 women’s doubles gold medallist Jia Yifan of China.
Previously, in para-badminton, Chan Ho Yuen Daniel of Hong Kong China’s had been appointed full-time chair after serving in an interim role. Indian para-badminton player Abu Hubaida is also part of the Athletes’ Commission.