Before Sindhu left for Tokyo Prime Minister Narendra Modi told her that if she returned with a medal he would have ice cream with her. He said this when Sindhu told him that her favourite diet is ice cream and she is forced to sacrifice it as part of diet regime imposed in course of her preparation for the Olympics. After Sindhu had won her match with Chinese counterpart He Bing Jiao, her father PV Ramana said that his daughter can now have ice cream with the prime minister.
“The encouragement PM Modi had given to her, he had said, ‘You go, we will have ice cream when you come back,’ so she will now definitely go and have ice-cream with the Prime Minister,” Ramana said at a media conference. “I am happy that she is the first Indian woman to win two consecutive medals at the Olympics. She has brought name and fame to the country,” Sindhu’s father about her bagging a silver and a bronze medal. “Sindhu is focused and she has that hunger. She enjoys the game,” Ramana said about her daughter.
While it would have made the whole country doubly happy had she won a gold medal, winning bronze also is a huge achievement, he said. In both the Olympics she participated, she came back with medals, silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted soon after the match on Sunday evening congratulating Sindhu for winning two medals in two Olympics.
I am on top of the world, says Sindhu
Moments after winning the bronze medal in the badminton singles, PV Sindhu expressed her joy saying that she was on top of the world and it is a proud moment for her. “I have no words because it is definitely a proud moment for me and also for the country and getting a medal at the Olympics for second time is I and at the top of the world,” Sindhu told India Today.
After losing to Tai Tzu Ying on Saturday in a one sided match, Sindhu had shown resilience and mental strength for which she is known and came back strongly in to the fight against other Chinese player who is less endowed than the Ying who had beaten Sindhu the other day.
Sindhu screamed in joy and embraced her coach Park Tae Sang who was instrumental in coaching Sindhu for Tokyo. It was in Rio Olympics in 2016 where she picket up her silver medal after losing the finals. The 26-year old had shown her brilliance which made her win the world championship in 2019 at the Tokyo Games.
In this Olympic campaign as well Sindhu won against Mia Blichfeldt. Mia had beaten Sindhu earlier this years but in Tokyo the world number 12 was not the same. She could not stand the fury of Sindhu. So was the case with world no. 1 Akane Yamaguchi in quarter-final who lost the match two straight games. That was why the way Sindhu lost her semifinals was unbelievable. She lost her nerve after losing the first game in the semifinals and gave away the second game without resistance. That she came back into the game with in less than twenty four hours shows her metal strength and sportsmanship.
