In 'tears' after semis loss, Sindhu gives her father the 'gift' he wished for

Hyderabad: P V Sindhu needed an extra dose of motivation following her semifinal loss at the Tokyo Games and that came from her father P V Ramana, whose wish for a "gift" was duly fulfilled by his world conquering daughter.

Expressing his happiness over Sindhu securing her second successive Olympic medal, Ramana said here on Sunday said that he asked her to concentrate on her game against China's Bing Jiao in the bronze medal play-off and "just think that you are giving me a gift".

"Firstly, I shall thank Park (her South Korean coach Park Tae Sang) who has taken great pain, the government of India, BAI, her supporters, everybody has given her encouragement, I am grateful to the media also," Ramana told reporters.

Reigning world champion 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. "I am happy that she is the first Indian woman to win two consecutive medals at the Olympics--bronze and a silver. That way she has brought name and for the country. Though the pressure is there I am happy that she has won a medal for the country. Because generally what happens is that playing the third and fourth match is a painful match, yesterday I motivated her a lot," Ramana said.

On Sindhu losing to Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-Ying in the semifinal clash on Saturday, what was his message to his daughter for Sunday's match, Ramana said : "Yesterday I had told her you gave your best and no problem. Concentrate today and just think that you are giving me a gift and play on the court. So, I am very happy.

"No doubt we were expecting a gold medal. I am very happy. You had played well. Just forget it and concentrate as it will be a record," he said.

Asked if her morale was down following Saturday's loss, Ramana said: "No...of course everybody will cry. She had tears in her eyes. But, good that she has recovered and come back and she has won today.

"Overall she was very aggressive on the court. I had told her keep attacking...keep playing repeated shots, he said. Ramana said he is planning to go to Delhi as Sindhu will arrive in Delhi on August 3.

"The Olympics is not a small event. Winning a Gold, Silver or Bronze...medal is a medal. I am happy that she has got and given us happiness," he said.

Ramana further said he is confident that Sindhu will play in the next Olympics also. "We have to plan, we have to work out. I trust Sindhu because she is focussed and she has that hunger to go and play and she enjoys the game," Ramana added. (PTI)