For a second consecutive day on Tuesday, star shuttler PV Sindhu and her coach Pullela Gopichand basked in the glory of the silver medal she clinched in the women’s singles category at Rio Olympics.
A day after the Telangana government felicitated them for the historic achievement, the Andhra Pradesh government went out of the way to give them a rousing reception.
If Hyderabad, the hometown of Sindhu, had come out to accord her a hero’s welcome, Vijayawada, the native place of her mother, opened its heart to the star shuttler.
The Andhra Pradesh government left no stone unturned to give Sindhu and her coach a memorable reception. They were brought here by a special aircraft from Hyderabad in the morning.
At the Gannavaram Airport, they were accorded a warm welcome by the state ministers. As Sindhu’s parents have their roots in Andhra Pradesh, many of her relatives were among those who accorded her a warm welcome. This was followed by a huge victory rally from the airport to the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium.
Standing in a specially decorated open-top bus along with her coach Gopichand, parents and some ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Sindhu waved at the huge crowd. She kept displaying her Olympic medal proudly.
Amid the drum beats, the victory rally passed through different parts of the city before reaching the stadium, where she was given a rousing reception.
Keeping all protocols aside, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reached the stadium much before the scheduled time to welcome Sindhu and Gopichand.
Naidu even held a racquet and played for some time with Sindhu on the dais, amid loud cheers by thousands of students.
Sindhu said the visit to Vijayawada was a trip down memory lane. “As a child I used to visit my grandparents here and play badminton,” she said and recalled that Gopichand spotted her playing the game and offered to train her.
Naidu, who presented a cheque of `3 crore to Sindhu, lavished praise on her for becoming the first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal at the Olympics. He promised all help to the Telugu abidda’ and exuded confidence that next time she will come back with a gold medal.
Grand welcome awaits Sakshi
A grand welcome awaits Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik when she arrives home, with preparations underway to give her a rousing reception at Bahadurgarh and at her village Mokhra Khas in Rohtak district.
Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar, who was earlier scheduled to honour her at her village, will felicitate her at Bahadurgarh at Jhajjar district, a senior officer of the State’s Sports and Youth Affairs Department said.
When Sakshi touches down at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at around 3:50 a.m., as many as five ministers of the BJP Government in Haryana will be there to receive her.
“Aa rahi hoon main, apne des apne ghar! (I am coming back, to my country, to my home),” Sakshi tweeted earlier on Tuesday.