With silver in pocket, Sindhu says she will gun for gold

 Ecstatic but unruffled by burden of expectations after storming into the Olympic final, Indian shuttler P V Sindhu said on Thursday that she is in fact looking forward to end ace shooter Abhinav Bindra’s reign as the country’s sole individual Olympic gold-medallist.

The World No. 10 from Hyderabad will next take on two-time World Champion and top seed Carolina Marin of Spain in the summit clash on Friday.

“I feel I really worked hard each and every time. Everybody’s aim is to get a medal at the Olympics, one more match to go. Definitely I feel that I’ve a chance,” Sindhu said.

“It’s nothing like pressure. It’s just that I have to give my 100 per cent. There’s one more match to go and it’s not going to be easy,” said Sindhu.

Excited to make the final in her maiden Olympics, the lanky girl said: “I hope I would give my best. This is my first time in Olympics and I am playing the final. It is a very great feeling.”

The secret of her success is sheer hard work and determination and Sindhu said she just took one match at a time, like any other champion does.

“I did not think so far. I just kept on going every single match. The immediate target was to win the next match. If you keep on winning you are going to get a medal.”

Her assured medal comes less than 12 hours after another woman Sakshi Malik ended the anxious wait by clinching the 58kg freestyle bronze through repechage in wrestling.

Congratulating Sakshi, Sindhu said: “I did not meet her. I saw her on TV and I will definitely congratulate her for her bronze. She played really well. It’s a great thing for India.”

On her strategy for the final against the left-handed Carolina Marin of Spain, Sindhu said: “It’s going to be good match. Each one has a different style of play and strategy. It just depends on that day. I have my coach and he will tell me the strategies.” 

In her moment of glory, Sindhu did not forget to laud her rival.
“It was anybody’s game in the first even as I was leading 18-17. She did not give up also. When It was 19-18, those two points were really very important. In the second game, it was equal till 10 points. I took a break. I took a huge a lead from there on. I never took it easy, as you never know what would happen after that,” she said.

National coach Pullela Gopichand said they will give their best in the gold medal match on Friday.

“She has played fantastic. She has played each match from the beginning — against Michelle, Wendy... She has really played well and she has fought hard. Today’s win was great. She is up against a tough player in Carolina Marin tomorrow. We will give our best shot and let’s see how it goes,” Gopichand said.