PV Sindhu, India’s star badminton player, wins the bronze medal after defeating China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13 21-15 in the third place play-off on Sunday at Musashino Forest Plaza.
Sindhu is also the first Indian woman to win two individual medals in the Olympics. Wrestler Sushil Kumar is the only other Indian to have won two Olympic medals, following up his bronze in Beijing in 2008 with a silver in London.
“I’m on cloud nine right now. So many years of hard work. I believe I did really well. I was torn between being delighted that I had won bronze and disappointed that I had missed out on the chance to compete in the final.” Sindhu said after her victory.
My family worked really hard for me and put in a lot of effort, for which I am quite grateful. I’m grateful to all of the Indian fans who have shown me their love and support. There were some really extended rallies, but I had to be patient and cool. I didn’t relax even though I was in charge, she added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the champion shuttler on her victory, writing on Twitter, thst she is India’s pride and one of our most remarkable Olympians.
PV Sindhu becomes the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals. She has established a new standard for consistency, devotion, and quality. My heartfelt congrats to her for giving India honour is being said by President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated the shuttler on Twitter.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao congratulated Sindhu on being the first Indian woman athlete to win gold in two consecutive Olympics, according to a CMO announcement.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulated Sindhu and wished her success in future competitions, as well as bringing honour to the country and the state. N Chandrababu Naidu, the Leader of the Opposition in Andhra Pradesh, also congratulated Sindhu. Sindhu is a role model for athletes of her generation. I hope she wins more in the future and reaches the peak of glory, said the former Chief Minister.
The 26-year-old Rio Games silver medalist’s chances of capturing India’s first-ever Olympic gold in badminton were dashed when she lost in straight games against world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the women’s singles quarterfinals on Saturday.
Up against an opponent who had beaten her nine times in the previous 15 matches, Sindhu shown tremendous resolve to outplay Bing Jiao with her aggressiveness and win India’s third medal in Tokyo.
Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has already returned home with a silver medal, while boxer Lovlina Borgohain is certain of at least a bronze medal.
Sindhu, one of the most consistent players who has won gold in all major tournaments in the previous five years, was unable to overcome Tai Tzu’s trickery with her aggressive game, falling 18-21 12-21 here. It was Sindhu’s 14th defeat to the Taiwanese second seed in 19 encounters, and she had also lost to her in the previous three meetings. Sindhu defeated Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt, the 13th seed, in straight games in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.
After men’s singles player B Sai Praneeth and men’s doubles team Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy failed to qualify for the knockout stage, she was the lone Indian in the competition.
