Tokyo: After winning the bronze medal in the badminton singles, PV Sindhu expressed her joy, saying that she was on the top of the world and the historic triumph in Tokyo was definitely a proud moment for her.I have no words because it’s definitely a proud moment for me and also for the country and getting a medal at the Olympics for 2nd time is I am at the top of the world, Sindhu said.
With this win, Sindhu becomes the second Indian after Sushil Kumar to win two individual Olympic medals. She had won a silver in the last Olympics in Rio after losing in the final to Carolina Marin. Sindhu had earlier lost to world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the last four on Saturday.
Sindhu didn’t drop a single game at this year’s Olympics in the five matches that she won and her ten match wins at the Olympics are the most for an Indian badminton player. Saina Nehwal, who won bronze at the London Olympics in 2012 and the only other Indian badminton player to medal at the Olympics, is second with nine.
This is India’s third medal at this Olympics. Mirabai Chanu had earlier won a bronze in weightlifting, while Lovlina Borgohain is also assured of a medal in boxing after reaching the semifinals. India had won two medals at the previous Olympics in Rio. This is also the first time that three Indian women have medaled at a single edition of the Olympics.
Sindhu has now won a grand total of seven medals at the World Championships and Olympics, which is the joint-most for a woman’s singles player, tied with China’s Zhang Ning. Other than her two Olympic medals, Sindhu has one gold, two silvers and two bronzes at the Worlds.
She’s also only the fourth women’s singles player to medal at successive Olympics after Susi Susanti (gold in 1992 and bronze in 1996), Bang Soo-Hyun (silver in 1992 and gold in 1996) and Zhang (gold in 2004 and 2008).
Sindhu had looked in tremendous form throughout the tournament and she started off confidently to open up a 4-0 lead in the opening game. She set the tone of the match early and the Chinese player was playing catch up throughout as Sindhu almost led from start to finish.