Indian shuttler PV Sindhu on Sunday became the first woman and only the second Indian to win two Olympic Games medals, securing a bronze after a straight-games win over world No 9 He Bingjiao of China in the women’s singles third-place play-off.
Sindhu, who has returned with medals from each of the big-ticket events such as World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and BWF World Tour Finals in the last five years, outwitted eighth seed Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to add a bronze to her silver that she had secured at the 2016 Rio Games.
As it happened: PV Sindhu’s victory against He Bingjiao in the bronze medal match at Tokyo 2020
Wrestler Sushil Kumar is the other Indian to win two individual Olympic medals, following up his bronze at 2008 Beijing with a silver at the London edition.
Up against an opponent, who has beaten her nine times so far in the last 15 meetings, Sindhu showed great determination to outplay Bingjiao with her aggression to scoop India’s third medal at Tokyo.
At Rio 2016, she was a youngster (but with reputation) looking to pull off what not many predicted. At Tokyo 2020, the pressure was all on her. The gold isn’t here yet after a defeat against the magnificent Tai Tzu Ying but Sindhu delivered yet again in a year where she had to evolve and adapt to change all around.
REPLUG: From Rio 2016 to Tokyo 2020: For PV Sindhu, it was all about adapting to change
| MEDAL | Major tournament (Worlds / Olympics) |
|---|---|
| BRONZE | 2020 Tokyo |
| GOLD | 2019 Basel |
| SILVER | 2018 Nanjing |
| SILVER | 2017 Glasgow |
| SILVER | 2016 Rio |
| BRONZE | 2013 Copenhagen |
| BRONZE | 2014 Guangzhou |
Here are some reactions to Sindhu’s historic win, starting with a moving message on Instagram from Tai Tzu Ying:
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