This is my answer to those who questioned me: Sindhu

Basel, August 26

BWF World Championships gold medallist PV Sindhu says she felt “angry and sad” after being criticised for not finishing on top in the last two World Championships finals and the gold medal in the just-concluded edition is her answer to all the critics who questioned her. 

Read also: Sindhu on top of the world

The 24-year-old from Hyderabad became the first Indian to achieve the feat by thrashing familiar rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-7 21-7 in one of the most lopsided finals ever. It was third time lucky for Sindhu, who lost to Okuhara and Olympics champion Carolina Marin of Spain, respectively, in the 2017 and 2018 finals to settle for the silver twice. Sindhu has been at the receiving end of criticism for coming short in the summit clashes of major events ever since the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she had finished second-best to Marin. Two years ago, Sindhu was denied the gold by Okuhara after an epic 110-minute final that went down as one of the greatest battles in badminton history. The Indian also lost the finals of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the Jakarta Asian Games, besides the World Championships twice. She had also finished runners-up at Thailand Open and India Open last year.

“After a year I also thought what should I do for it and instead of thinking about others, I thought maybe I should just play for myself and give my 100 percent because thinking about others would put extra pressure on me,” she added. Now that Sindhu has added the missing World Championships gold to her cabinet, next in line for her will be the Olympic crown in Tokyo 2020. “People are already asking ‘Sindhu, what about gold in Tokyo 2020?’,” she said. “Olympics is not so far but right now it is step-by-step for me. I know the Olympics qualification is going so I hope I do well, but right now I just want to enjoy it and don’t want to think about anything else.” — Agencies

All the WAY TO TOKYO 

Winning a World Championships gold is a fantastic achievement and a great day for Indian sport. I am sure this will give @Pvsindhu1 intrinsic belief that she can go all the way at Tokyo. Wish her and her entire team the very best! —Abhinav Bindra

Proud of you girl! You’re gold! @Pvsindhu1 — Carolina Marín

Hope this medal changes the attitude towards sports in our country and the deserving sportspersons get all the support to achieve this kind of feat! Thank you @Pvsindhu1 for this! You only proved that with the right kind of support we can conquer the world — Jwala Gutta

World badminton has a new queen. Congrats @Pvsindhu1! Displaying sheer brilliance, she defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara to clinch the title. May you inspire many more — Rajyavardhan Rathore 

PV Sindhu’s sucess will inspire generations to come. Hefty congragulations on winning the gold at BWF World Championships — PT Usha

Congratulations @Pvsindhu1 what an incredible performance! #BWFWorldChampionships 2019 — Dipa Karmakar