PV Sindhu after Tokyo bronze: Super happy to be first Indian woman athlete to win two Olympic medals
PV Sindhu beat China's He Bingjiao 21-13, 21-15 in the Women's singles Bronze Medal match on Sunday to become the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals.
Published : Aug 01, 2021 18:08 IST
PV Sindhu beat China's He Bingjiao 21-13, 21-15 in the Women's singles Bronze Medal match on Sunday to become the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals.
"I had to put my emotions aside to win this game. I'm sure a lot of youngsters will take this as motivation. If I can do this I'm sure anyone can," Sindhu said after the match.
"I had to be very composed and just play my game today. I got an opportunity again after losing yesterday and I've done it. Very thankful to my family and support staff and sponsors. I've proved myself today. I'm super happy to be the first Indian woman athlete to win two Olympic medals. I'm very happy to finally be here.
"Was really sad and upset yesterday but [my] coach kept saying that we have another chance. I woke up, did my stretches, had breakfast and came back. Constantly I was just thinking about the match - like what was going to happen because you have a lot of thoughts and keep thinking what if you lose. So you just have to let go of everything and be calm. But that did not happen for me today. I was waiting for it to happen because [the match] was at 8:30 pm and you have to wait the whole day. Even when we left for the stadium, I was like when will it happen and when will the time come. It finally happened and I got the win."
Sindhu becomes the first Indian athlete after wrestler Sushil Kumar to win two Olympic medals. Sindhu now has five World Championship medals including a gold, two medals in consecutive Asian Games, two medals at Commonwealth Games and two Olympic medals.
The win came a day after Sindhu lost her semifinal to world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying 18-21, 12-21. Bingjiao lost to compatriot Chen Yufei 21-16, 13-21, 21-12.