New Delhi, Aug 19 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu who, despite losing an opportunity to bag a maiden gold in the Rio Olympics, created history by becoming the first woman Indian athlete to clinch a silver medal at the prestigious quadrennial event.
"Congrats for the Silver @Pvsindhu1. Very well fought. Your accomplishment at #Rio2016 is historic (and) will be remembered for years," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.
Marin, known as the 'Rafa Nadal' of badminton in Spain, closed out a 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 victory over the 21-year-old Sindhu who was absolutely ruthless in her Olympic debut.
President Pranab Mukherjee also extended congratulations to the world number 10 badminton player, saying, "Great game played with grit; Hearty congrats #PVSindhu on creating history by winning for India Olympic Silver medal #PresidentMukherjee.
Proud moment for India, whole nation rejoices with your family and you #PresidentMukherjee." Meanwhile, Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel heaped praise on the 21-year-old shuttler, saying the way she performed in the finals was terrific.
"The way she played the game was terrific. I am equally with her bagging the silver medal as I would have been the gold medal. She had done a huge amount of hard work and that was visible in the game. But Carolina Marin is a number one player. But the way Sindhu put forward the fight against the number one player, it has made us proud," Goel told ANI.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that it was joyful moment for the entire nation.
"I am very proud of Sindhu. Many congratulations to her and her family. One of our athletes is World number two now. At the level of Olympics, the Indian flag was unfurled high. It is a very proud moment for all of us," the Athens Olympic silver medallist told ANI. After producing a spirited fight-back to clinch the first game, the 21-year-old lanky shuttler from Hyderabad failed to capitalize on it and went on to lose the next two games with a big margin against world number one Carolina Marin in the women's singles event.
The Spaniard outclassed Sindhu, the two-time bronze medallist at the World Championship, 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 and sealed the gold medal in a nerve-wracking summit showdown.
Sindhu has now become the second Indian player in badminton to win an Olympic medal after Saina Nehwal, who had clinched bronze in London four years ago.
With the feat, Sindhu has also become the fifth Indian woman to clinch a medal in Olympics history after Karnam Malleswari, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and Sakshi Malik.
Source: ANI
