Tokyo Olympics Bronze tougher medal than Rio Silver, says PV Sindhu after scripting history in badminton

Tokyo Olympics Bronze Tougher Medal Than Rio Silver, says PV Sindhu after scripting History in Badminton

PV Sindhu showed immense character and guts to come back from a crushing defeat on Saturday to win a historic bronze medal in the women's singles badminton at Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. The 26-year-old became only the 4th female shutter to win 2 Olympic medals in singles badminton when she hammered China's He Bingjiao in the bronze medal match in just 53 minutes.

Sindhu won a historic silver on her Games debut at the Rio Olympics. She was not the favourite back then but she outclassed some of the biggest names on the circuit to finish on the podium. 5 years later, she was the star, a poster girl of badminton in a cricket-crazy country. There was pressure and the burden of expectations but the reigning Olympic champion finished on the podium at the biggest of all stages once again.

The pressure was intense: Sindhu

Moments after winning the bronze medal, PV Sindhu said the Tokyo Olympics campaign was tougher and the bronze was a tough nut to crack than her silver at the Rio Olympics.

Sindhu herself stressed that not many expected her to win the Olympic silver in Rio in 2016. She said the pressure was intense as she headed to the Tokyo Games as one of the favourites.

Sindhu said there were a lot of emotions going through her head after losing the semi-final to Tai on Saturday but she worked hard to focus on the job at hand. Indeed, Sindhu looked switched on from the word go and dominated the highly-rated He Bingjiao.

"It makes me feel really happy because I've worked hard for so many years. I had a lot of emotions going through me - should I be happy that I won bronze or sad that I lost the opportunity to play in the final? But overall, I had to close off my emotions for this one match and give it my best, my all and think about the emotions. I'm really happy and I think I've done really well. It's a proud moment getting a medal for my country," Sindhu told BWF.

Sindhu needed only 53 minutes to beat the higher-ranked He Bingjiao and script history. Sindhu was at her aggressive best, hammering down smashes and dominating the rallies, showcasing that she is truly a big-match player.

(Source : India Today.in)