Each match at Rio 2016 Olympics was a challenge, says PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award -- the country's highest sporting honour -- by President Pranab Mukherjee.

PV Sindhu defeated higher-ranked opponents in each round to set up the summit clash against Carolina Marin in the Olympic final.

Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu on Monday said every match at the recently-concluded Games was a challenge for her.

World No.10 Sindhu, who was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — the country’s highest sporting honour — by President Pranab Mukherjee at a special function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, defeated higher-ranked opponents in each round to set up the summit clash against World No.1 Carolina Marin of Spain.

“Each match at Rio Olympics was a challenge for me. Always discussed strategies before matches with my coach (Pullela Gopichand),” Sindhu was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Sindhu, at 5 feet 10 and half inch, is comparatively taller than most of her contemporaries but the Hyderabadi reckoned that height is never a factor for shuttlers.

“Height is not a very important aspect for a badminton player,” she said.

Sindhu’s coach Gopichand, who has produced champions like London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and China Open Superseries winner Kidambi Srikanth, spoke highly of the 21-year-old’s on-court attitude.

“Sometimes she used to get emotional, but her attitude in training and on court has been great,” Gopichand said.

“As a coach, I have nothing to complain about Sindhu,” he added.

First uploaded on: 29-08-2016 at 23:46 IST

Each match at Rio 2016 Olympics was a challenge, says PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award -- the country's highest sporting honour -- by President Pranab Mukherjee.

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