Kerala govt felicitates PV Sindhu for world title

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described Sindhu as a testament of self-confidence and a player of great grit in his inaugural address.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan honouring the world champion P.V. Sindhu at a reception accorded to her by the Kerala Government in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Sports Minister P Jayarajan looks on.

P. V. Sindhu was honoured for emerging as the first Indian to win a World championship title, by the State of Kerala at a rousing reception here on Wednesday.

Organised jointly by the Department of Sports and the Kerala Olympic Association, the well-attended public function at the Jimmy George indoor stadium, in fact turned out to be a gala affair as the exponent of touch and power play was heaped with praise for her outstanding effort and best wishes for the future.

Most typically, the best accolade came from the Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, who after presenting the champion with a memento, described Sindhu as a testament of self-confidence and a player of great grit in his inaugural address. “Her effortless win in Basel, Switzerland, I hope, will prove to be a great lesson to all budding sportspersons in the country. And what stands out is the manner in which Sindhu came out with flying colours, displaying utmost confidence in her own ability to surmount hurdles and overcome some uncalled criticism after she had failed in the finals of the last two editions of the World championships,” he said.

P.V. Sindhu being taken in a procession to the venue of her reception organised by the Kerala Government in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

The Sports Minister, E. P. Jayarajan, who presided, also hailed the effort of Sindhu and remarked that she by now was the role model of all sportspersons in the country, hopeful of emulating the deeds of this great player in their own sport while representing India in the international arena.

The announced cash award of Rs. 10 lakh, was earlier presented to Sindhu by the KOA president, V. Sunil Kumar, as the star briefly visited the KOA office after offering prayers at the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and the Attuakal Devi temple. This was owing to the Model Code of Conduct, now in force in the State on account of the by-elections to five Assembly segments on October 21 and thus prevented the Chief Minister from presenting it to Sindhu.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP, Shashi Tharoor, the local MLA, V. S. Sivakumar, Secretary (Sports), A. Jayathilak, the KSSC president, Mercy Kuttan, Director (Sports), Sanjayan Kumar also spoke at the function, which also witnessed the unveiling of the theme song of the inaugural Kerala Beach Games (in November) by the Tourism Minister, Kadakampally Surendran.

In her reply address, Sindhu was gracious to thank all those lined up all through the main thoroughfare leading to the stadium as she was driven in an open jeep from the city for the event.. “I love you all. I have been to this beautiful State several times before and hope to return again soon. I understand the feelings of all my supporters, who now wants me to return home from Tokyo next year with the gold medal. I do not feel any kind of pressure due to this, but instead am overwhelmed by the genuine love towards me,” she said.