Indian superstar wins Bronze to become 1st female athlete from country to win 2 Olympic medals

Reigning world champion P V Sindhu on Sunday became only the second Indian and the country’s first woman to win two Olympic medals, securing a Bronze after a straight-game win over world No 9 He Bing Jiao of China in the badminton women’s singles third-place play-off.

Sindhu, who has returned with medals from each of the big-ticket events such as the Commonwealth and Asian Games and the BWF World Tour Finals in the last five years, outwitted eighth seed Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to add a Bronze to the silver that she had secured at the 2016 Rio Games.

“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?,”  the 26-year-old said after the match.

“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.”

Wrestler Sushil Kumar is the first and only other Indian to win two Olympic medals, following up his Bronze at 2008 Beijing with a Silver at the 2012 London edition.

Sindhu also became only the fourth player to win two consecutive Olympic medals in women’s badminton singles history.

Up against an opponent, who had beaten her nine times so far in the last 15 meetings, Sindhu showed great determination to outplay Bing Jiao with her aggression to scoop India’s third medal.

Sindhu showed great fortitude as she recovered from her painful semifinal loss to Tai Tzu Ying and produced an aggressive show.

“It was a fresh game altogether, we both had losses yesterday (Saturday) and came back. For us, it was very important in getting a medal for the country and at the Olympics,” Sindhu said.

“It’s not easy. It’s a big thing. There were really long rallies but I had to be patient and calm. Even though I was leading, I did not relax.”

“I’m on cloud nine. I’m going to enjoy this moment,” Sindhu said. “My family have worked hard for me and put in a lot of effort so I’m very thankful. And my sponsors have given me their best so I’d like to thank them and enjoy the moment,” she added.