The energy and the decibel levels were pretty high at the Pullela Gopi Chand Academy, venue where Rio Games silver medallist P.V. Sindhu, mastered the nuances of the sport for long under the tutelage of mentor and coach Gopi.
And, when the images of Sindhu walking across to congratulate the eventual winner Carolina Marin were beamed live on the giant screen set up on the lawns, there was no palpable feeling of distraught but a big murmur – if only she had won the gold, what an evening it would have been!
Among those who witnessed the final included the parents of Sindhu, London Olympics bronze medallist and ace shooter Gagan Narang besides Gopi’s family which was in full attendance.
Gagan summed up the feelings of one and all with a near-perfect statement – Marin would remember this match for her lifetime. What a fight by Sindhu and I can imagine the kind of pressure she could have been in with millions of Indians watching all over the world, was his first reaction with The Hindu after the final.
The DJ band played the popular tunes to a high pitch egging on the crowds to lustily cheer the Indian shuttler battling out there in Rio. All expectedly with the hope of a turn-around in the fortunes for the Indian. But Lakshmi, Gopi’s wife and first-ever Telugu Olympian shuttler (1996 Games) from India, was to the point stating that Sindhu was not certainly up to the mark this evening. “But none can take the credit away from Sindhu after such a scintillating performance,” she insisted. Importantly, she promised the gathering that Gopi would continue to serve the sport and see that more Olympians are produced from the Academy. “Hyderabad would continue to be the hub of badminton in India and the two Academies set up by Gopi would be the major assembly-line of gifted talent in the days to come,” Lakshmi said. Clearly, the mood was not despondent at the end of a final which saw Sindhu give a real fight to the World No.1 Spanish opponent. They all sported a big smile reflecting the pride with which their own Hyderabadi dazzled in Rio.
