Who Is Devika Sihag? Early Life, Badminton Career, and Major Achievements

Devika Sihag is a 17-year-old badminton player from Haryana, India, who is making waves in the world of badminton. In February, Sihag became only the third Indian woman to win a BWF World Tour Super 300 title as she bagged the title at the Thailand Masters 2026.

With this victory, she joins Indian legends P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who were the only other Indian women to achieve this accomplishment. This recent win is a milestone for both Sihag and Indian women’s badminton.

Early Life and Background

Sihag was born in Hansi, Haryana, but later moved with her family to Chandigarh, India. Her mother, Sunita Maan, was a social science teacher who didn’t have any sporting background when her daughter began playing badminton. When Devika was nine, she took her to the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula after school to try to keep her busy, and she discovered that Devika had a natural talent for badminton.

Seeing the natural talent, at age 12, her parents made the decision to send her to Bengaluru, India, where she attended the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (now called the Centre for Badminton Excellence). This move was crucial as she had access to elite coaching, world-class facilities, and a professional training environment.

Alongside badminton, Devika maintained her academic focus. She completed her schooling at Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, and later joined Chitkara University. She was able to balance both competitive sport and education, which shows her discipline.

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Badminton Playing Style & Career

Devika trains with coach Umendra Rana at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru. She stands 5 feet 9 inches tall, providing her with a size advantage and complementing her style of play. Devika is known for her long reach, strong wrist power, and excellent net control, allowing her to control the momentum of the game instead of merely reacting to them.

Devika’s first major success was winning her junior national title in 2018. She was able to achieve this just one year after she began training at the academy. Following this, Devika’s progress was steady rather than sudden. Both coaches and peers believed that she was a prodigy who was making gradual progress rather than obtaining immediate results.

From 2024 to 2025, Devika made the transition from junior to senior international badminton. On the BWF Circuit, Devika began producing consistent performances against higher-ranked players while also developing the mental strength to compete at the highest levels. She is given the title of “Giant Killer” due to her mesmerising performance against big opponents under pressure.

Historic Thailand Masters 2026 Victory

The 2026 Thailand Masters was the defining moment for Devika Sihag as she completed a perfect badminton tournament that saw her win matches against several seeded players without dropping a game. Her quarterfinal victory over top-seeded Supanida Katethong showcased her increased confidence and ability to carry out her game plan.

In the finals, Devika played against Goh Jin Wei, a former World Junior Champion from Malaysia. She won the first game decisively and controlled the match until Goh was injured and unable to continue. With this win, Devika became the third Indian female player to win a Super 300 title in women’s singles; furthermore, she is now registered as one of India’s top shuttlers.

The title was not only the most significant win of her career but also a validation of years of structured training and hard work to shine on the professional badminton scene.

Main Accomplishments and Rankings

Before her success at the Thailand Masters, Devika earned her first international title at the Malaysia International during August of 2025, which provided a major boost to her confidence. Additionally, as a competitor in both individual and team-based competitions, Devika has shown the ability to contribute to a team’s success, including helping India win a bronze medal at the 2025 World University Games in mixed team competition.

During the course of 2024, Devika reached four championships, winning the Swedish Open and Portugal International and finishing second at both the Estonian International and the Dutch International. Devika has continued her ability to consistently be present in the latter rounds of international tournaments by finishing as a runner-up at the 2025 Indonesia Open.

As of late January 2026, following her victory at the BWF Masters and her continued success on the BWF World Tour events, she has risen to No 63 in world rankings and could be further pushed into the top 40–50 as long as she continues to compete and perform well at the BWF. Also, she is a Khelo India athlete, committing to both high-performance sports and education.

From Injury Struggles to Competitive Maturity

At an early stage in her career, Devika Sihag suffered recurring knee problems, which were caused by her tall body size affecting how strong, stable, and consistent she could be as a junior player. Even after qualifying two times to compete at the Junior World Championship,s she had not been able to win a medal. Once she moved into senior badminton and developed more leg strength, she started to perform more consistently, achieving her first senior national title in 2024.

“A lot of these youngsters in Indian badminton are very skillful, but they lack strength and stability. It’s worse for Devika because of her height, which has resulted in a few knee issues. I would sometimes joke that she had long legs like a coconut tree! She has all the strokes, but very often she’s reluctant to play them because you have to approach the net very fast, and that sometimes leads to pain in her knee. Because of this, she was always a little hot and cold as a junior,” says Vimal.

 In 2025, while she had issues with her patellar/knee during close matches, she continued to train at a high level of intensity. Recently, she has been able to train with P.V. Sindhu in Bengaluru with coach Irwansyah, focusing on both strength and conditioning. Following her title at the Thailand Masters, her next goal is to break into the top 50 in the world, with a long-term goal (in the next several years) of breaking into the top 30 in the world, while continuing to build on developing both her physical strength and her competitive temperament.

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