Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
Sports

World Championships Gold 'My Answer To People Who Questioned Me': PV Sindhu

Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Aug, 2019 07:48 PM

    PV Sindhu, who had lost her previous two World Championships final, blitzed Nozomi Okuhara in the 2019 summit clash to script history.

     

    PV Sindhu says she felt "angry and sad" after being criticised for not winning the last two World Championships finals and Sunday's gold medal in the 2019 edition is her answer to all "the people who have asked me questions over and over".

     

    Two-time silver-medallist PV Sindhu ended an agonising wait for an elusive gold with a maiden World Championships title on Sunday. "This is my answer to the people who have asked me questions over and over. I just wanted to answer with my racket and with this win - that's all," Sindhu was quoted as saying by the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) official website after her crushing win over Nozomi Okuhara in the final.

     
     

    "I felt really bad after the first World Championships final and last year I was angry, I was sad. I went through all my emotions, asking "Sindhu, why can't you get this one match?" but today came and I told myself to play my game and not worry and it worked out," she added.

     

    The 24-year-old from Hyderabad became the first Indian to win a World Championships gold medal by thrashing familiar rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-7, 21-7 in one of the most lop-sided finals ever.

     

    It was third time lucky for Sindhu, who lost to Okuhara and Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain respectively in the 2017 and 2018 finals to settle for silver twice.

     
     

    Sindhu has been at the receiving end of criticism for coming up short in 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.

     

    The gold was her fifth medal at the World Championships. She won a bronze each in the 2013 and 2014 editions.

     

    Sindhu is now the joint highest medal-winner in women's singles in World Championships history with former Olympic champion Zhang Ning of China, who won an identical 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze between 2001 and 2007.

     

    "Everybody was wanting this win from me. After Rio Olympics silver medal, the expectations from me is really high. Every time I go to a tournament, everyone expects me to win a gold," Sindhu said.

     

    "After a year, I also thought what should I do for it and instead of thinking about others, I thought may be I should just play for myself and give my 100 percent and automatically I win because thinking about others would put extra pressure on me."

     

    Now that Sindhu has added the missing World Championships gold to her cabinet, next up 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 Olympic qualification is going so I hope I do well, but right now I just want to enjoy it and don't want to think anything else.

     

    "Badminton is my passion and I feel that I can win more titles," she signed off.

    MORE Sports ARTICLES

    Yuvraj Singh-Led Global T20 Canada Team Refuses To Play Over Unpaid Wages: Reports

    Global League T20: Toronto Nationals, led by former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and George Bailey’s Montreal Tigers initially refused to take the bus at the scheduled departure time from the team hotel to the CAA Centre in Brampton over unpaid wages  

    Yuvraj Singh-Led Global T20 Canada Team Refuses To Play Over Unpaid Wages: Reports

    Pakistan Opener Imam Ul Haq Apologises For Online Scandal Involving Multiple Women

    Imam-ul-Haq has tendered an unconditional apology for being involved in an online scandal with multiple women and the cricket board has let him off with a reprimand.

    Pakistan Opener Imam Ul Haq Apologises For Online Scandal Involving Multiple Women

    Sarabjot Singh Wins India's Ninth Gold At ISSF Junior World Cup

    After six days of top class shooting and with one more day to go, India remain on top of the medal standings with nine gold, nine silver and four bronze for a total of 22 medals.  

    Sarabjot Singh Wins India's Ninth Gold At ISSF Junior World Cup

    India Crash Out Of World Cup After Top-order Collapse

    He came, he put on a show, but Ravindra Jadeja failed to conquer as India crashed out of the World Cup after losing to New Zealand by 18 runs in the semifinal at the Old Trafford on Wednesday.

    India Crash Out Of World Cup After Top-order Collapse

    WATCH: Pro-Khalistan Protestors Evicted From India Vs New Zealand Game In Manchester

    Sikh separatists raising anti-India slogans were evicted from Old Trafford during Tuesday's World Cup semifinal, leaving a red-faced ICC scampering for cover yet again.

    WATCH: Pro-Khalistan Protestors Evicted From India Vs New Zealand Game In Manchester

    ICC Tweet featuring Jim Carrey About Pakistan's 'Chance' at World Cup, Draws Fans' Ire

    A tweet by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with regard to Pakistan's chances of making the semifinals of the World Cup on Friday has caused a bit of a stir on social media.    

    ICC Tweet featuring Jim Carrey About Pakistan's 'Chance' at World Cup, Draws Fans' Ire

    PrevNext