It was Sindhu all the way in Vijayawada.
The streets, illuminated for the ongoing Krishna Pushkarams, looked more colourful and radiant as people cutting across age, faith and ideologies came out and screamed their lungs out hailing Sindhu’s silver-medal winning feat at the Rio Olympics.
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“Never mind she lost a close contest but she kept the Indian flag flying,” said an elated Pattabhi Ram, president of the Krishna District Badminton Association.
At several homes the Telugu soaps were given a skip and youngsters along with their parents were seen watching the close contest with prayers on their lips. Shops, restaurants, hotels and wayside kiosks witnessed people craning their necks to take a dekko at the match.
Many made a quick visit to the river for a holy dip and skipped the evening cultural programmes organised by the district administration to see the pulsating contest.
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For the Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association, which played a vital role in promotion of the game in the united AP, the final featuring Sindhu was a godsend as the feat would rejuvenate the activities in the State which has no worthwhile infrastructure.
The administrators came under one roof to watch the final on a huge LED screen and for the trainees it was a nice experience to watch the proceedings along with their coaches.
“We are happy for the achievement of Sindhu. This feat will bring in more players on to the courts. More and more parents will be eager to send their children to the feather game,” said former Indian shuttler J.B.S. Vidyadhar, who launched an academy near Patamata Lanka recently. In fact, the role of K. Ch. Punnaiah Chowdary, the CEO of Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association, who is at Rio Olympics as Badminton Association of India observer, is praise-worthy for he used his good offices to bring in many tournaments to Hyderabad.