But after that the Indian girl showed better temperament and took six consecutive points that not only enabled her in overtaking Carolina but also finish the game 21-19.
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But, overall, the 21-year-old was up against a much better player today as the Spaniard played aggressively nearly throughout and controlled the proceedings.
Saina Nehwal won a bronze in London Olympics in 2012 and P.V. Sindhu bettered the colour of the medal after losing the women’s singles final to Carolina Marin of Spain at Rio on Friday.
Unperturbed by the pressure of the occasion and her towering opponent, Sindhu controlled her nerves and displayed swift court movements and hit bodyline smashes to diminish the lead to 13-15. However, Sindhu fought back and closed the gap to trail 16-17, including an awesome rally in which the duo exchanged as many as 52 shots. In the end, Marin won the third game 21-15 to become the first European shuttler to win gold in badminton. “At every game, we have seen her play new strokes and she has got confidence from each game”, said the former All-England Champion, who felt Sindhu can come back and have another shot at the gold in the next Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
The first game was a neck to neck one.
The men’s doubles final was also a dramatic affair as the Chinese pair of Fu and Zhang emerged victorious despite dropping the opening game. The two players crossed over with Marin having a slender 11-10 advantage.
The 23-year-old world number one adds Olympic gold to two world titles.
“She was playing her first Olympics and still won the silver medal”. The first was shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in 2004, followed by shooter Vijay Kumkar and wrestler Sushil Kumar, both in 2008.
The parents thanked coach Gopichand for all his support and encouragement, which helped her bag the silver medal.
Ramana, a former volleyball player and an Arjuna awardee, said with some disappointment that Sindhu will have to learn to be more aggressive in her behavior on the court. Her achievement is even greater considering this was her debut Olympic campaign. “Let’s hope we get a gold”, he said.
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I think I’ve really worked hard before coming here, and I’ve been training really hard. I would like to congratulate everyone. It’s going to be good match.
