Pusarla Venkata Sindhu etched a new chapter in Indian sports history by being the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals. The bronze medal playoff victory is a watershed moment for the lanky shuttler, who demonstrated that she is a fighter to the core when faced with a major task.
Sindhu’s quest for a second consecutive Olympic medal came to a halt with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Sindhu was at her most aggressive in demolishing China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 in the bronze medal match on Sunday, after falling short against Tai-Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Sindhu did not let the fact that she had lost six of their previous nine matches to Bing Jiao deter her from establishing her dominance, as she pumped her fist to celebrate every point won. “I’m on cloud nine right now. I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity. My family has worked extremely hard for me and put forth a great deal of effort, for which I am grateful. Sindhu added, “My sponsors also gave it their all for me, so I’d like to thank them and enjoy the occasion.”
Sindhu’s representatives informed that she was devastated after losing in the semifinals. Sindhu, on the other hand, was fully charged and determined to give her best in the bronze medal match just a few hours after working with the physio. She got a good night’s sleep and was ready for the big game. And it was obvious.
Sindhu has always delivered on the big stage, as evidenced by her five medals at the World Championships, including gold and silver, as well as her performance in the Olympics.
The road to Tokyo, on the other hand, was far from smooth. She had broken relations with her longtime coach, Pullela Gopichand, and was now coached by Park Tae Sang of Korea and the Suchitra Badminton Academy. She subsequently relocated to the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, where she obtained sparring partners from the Suchitra Academy and worked on her fitness with Srikant Verma, Suchitra’s trainer.
She was not totally fit when she returned from England, but the hard work she had put in was on display in Tokyo. She appeared to be in great shape, which helped her glide around the court against Bing Jiao.
With her exquisite strokes at the net and cunning pushes, the Chinese youngster moved Sindhu all over the court, demonstrating her tactical brilliance. Sindhu, on the other hand, rose to the occasion, reaching forward and sprinting back to the centre court to keep the shuttle alive.
For the most part, the Indian controlled the tempo of the game. And everytime Bing Jiao appeared to be regaining control of the match, the Indian thwarted her with powerful smashes. Sindhu was so dominant in the second game that there were at least a dozen smash winners.
Sindhu led 5-2 after a strong start in the first set and led 11-8 at halftime. The Indians extended their lead to 14-8 before finishing the game with precision. Sindhu became more assertive in the second round. Her down the line smashes were particularly entertaining to watch. Bing Jiao was disturbed by the way she ended a rally by cramming more power into her drives. Bing Jiao kept up with Sindhu until 14-16, but the Indian snatched the game away with some brilliant returns and easily settled the matter.
