National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand congratulated star shuttler PV Sindhu on winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Sindhu went down fighting against Tai Tzu of Chinese Taipei in the semi-final on Saturday, July 31. However, putting behind the defeat, she came back strongly to win the bronze. With this, she became the first Indian woman athlete to win two medals at the Olympics. She had won silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016 after losing to Spain's Carolina Marin in the final.
"Congrats to our awesome Sindhu on her second successive Olympics medal," Gopichand said in a statement after Sindhu clinched the bronze by defeating He Bingjiao of China 21-13, 21-15. "While it is all due to the hard work by her and the team of coaches and support staff, I also want to express my gratitude to the support of the Sports Ministry, Indian Government, SAI and BAI," said the former All England champion. "Also thank the Government of Telangana for allowing the stadium for the players and great to see badminton win medals in three successive games," the coach added.
Sindhu began her training under Gopichand, who has been the guiding force in Indian badminton for the last several years and played a key role in her success. In 2019, she started training with Kim Ji Hyun of South Korea. Her current coach is Park Tae Sang, also of South Korea. The shuttler recently moved out of Gopichand Academy and underwent training under Park Tae Sang at the Indoor Stadium in Gachibowli.
The Governors and Chief Ministers of Telugu speaking states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, also congratulated her on Sunday. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan hailed Sindhu and said in a tweet, "Heartiest Congratulations to Badminton Champion P V Sindhu on winning the bronze medal for India in women's singles badminton. @Pvsindhu1 becomes the first Indian woman to win medals in two Olympic games. India is truly proud of you (sic)." Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan also hailed the shuttler for winning the bronze in the Olympics. "It is a very proud moment that Sindhu clinched the bronze, becoming the only Indian woman to win two individual medals in Olympics," he said.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed his happiness at Sindhu creating history as the first Indian woman sportsperson to win medals in two successive Olympics, a release from CMO said in Hyderabad. Extending his congratulations to Sindhu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wished her success in future events and to bring laurels to the country and the state.