Hyderabad: After winning two medals in successive Olympics — silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo, India’s ace badminton player PV Sindhu is confident of putting up a better performance in Paris Olympics in 2024 and clinch the elusive gold for India.
“I am going to train more rigorously to win a gold in Paris. I will do my best,” Sindhu said, after reaching the city on Wednesday.
Sindhu’s aspirations to clinch gold in Tokyo was ended by Tai Tzu-Ying in the semifinals. That defeat had been a hard pill to swallow, but she did well to bounce back and return with bronze. “In Rio, there were no expectations. I won silver. But, when Tokyo arrived, there was so much. It seemed to have acted on me,” she said.
“When I lost the semifinals, I felt a little disappointed as I couldn’t make the entry into finals. However, my coach and physio had stood by me. My parents called me and encouraged me by saying that I have another chance to win a medal,” Sindhu said.
Having made her chance count, she said that it was a proud moment for her to climb the Olympic podium for the second time. “It was a proud moment to win a medal for the second time in the Olympics and bring it to the country,” she said.
In times of pandemic, Sindhu said it was challenging to play without the usual support. “It was a different kind of experience while playing the matches without spectators. It was challenging to participate in the Olympics in the pandemic, but the Japanese government followed all protocols.”
The 26-year-old is the only Indian woman to win two medals in successive Olympics. She is thankful to her parents for their support. “I am lucky to have my parents who were sportspersons. I grew up in the ambience of a sport and they helped me to grow to this level. They have encouraged me right from the beginning of my career and stood by me,” she said.
Sindhu’s coach Park Tae-sang, who is a retired South Korean professional badminton player, said that he will never forget this medal-winning effort. “It was very tough to practice during the pandemic, but with a lot of patience, Sindhu and myself worked hard to achieve a medal in the Olympics. We will try to get more medals in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Paris Olympics,” he said.
