Pusarla Venkata Sindhu etched a new chapter in the history of Indian sport by becoming the first woman from the sub-continent to win two Olympic medals. The triumph in the bronze medal playoff is an epoch-making moment and the lanky shuttler proved that she is a fighter to core when a big challenge is thrown at her.
Wrestler Sushil Kumar is the only other Indian with two Olympic medals.
Sindhu’s quest for a second successive Olympic medal culminated in a bronze at the Tokyo Games. Having come up short against Tai-Tzu Ying in the semifinals on Saturday, Sindhu was at her aggressive best in decimating the challenge of China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 in the bronze medal playoff on Sunday.
That she had lost six of their last nine encounters to Bing Jiao did not hamper Sindhu from asserting her superiority, as she pumped her fist regularly to celebrate every point won. “I'm on cloud nine. I'm going to enjoy this moment. My family has worked hard for me and put in a lot of effort, so I'm very thankful. My sponsors also gave me their best so I'd like to thank them and enjoy the moment,” Sindhu said.
Sindhu’s team told TOI that she was very upset after losing the semifinals. However, a few hours after working with the physio, Sindhu was fully charged and determined to give her best in the bronze medal match. She slept early and was ready for the big match. And it clearly showed.
Sindhu has always delivered on the big stage, her five medals at the World championships — including a gold and silver — apart from her show at the Olympics is a testimony to her hard work and dedication.
The lead-up to Tokyo, however, was far from smooth. She had parted ways with longtime coach Pullela Gopichand and relied on Korean Park Tae Sang and the Suchitra Badminton Academy. She then shifted base to the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium and got sparring partners from Suchitra Academy and worked on her fitness with Suchitra's trainer Srikant Verma.
When she returned from England, she was not fully fit but the hard work she had put in was on display in Tokyo. She looked fully fit and it helped in the way she moved around the court against Bing Jiao.
Known for her tactical acumen, the Chinese girl moved Sindhu all over the court with her deft touches at the net and deceptive pushes. Sindhu was up to the challenge, though, stretching forward and rushing back to the centre court to keep the shuttle in play.
The Indian dictated the pace for the most part of the match. And whenever Bing Jiao looked like coming back into the match, the Indian shut her out with power-packed smashes. So dominant was Sindhu that there were at least a dozen smash winners in the second game.
Up 5-2 after a confident start in the first game, Sindhu was ahead 11-8 at the break. The Indian enhanced the lead to 14-8 and clinically finished the game. Sindhu was more aggressive in the second. Some of her down the line smashes were a delight to watch. The manner she ended a rally by packing more power in her drives unnerved Bing Jiao. Though Bing Jiao kept up with Sindhu till 14-16, the Indian took the game away with some sharp returns and quickly put the issue beyond doubt.
