The triumphant Indian badminton team that made a historic breakthrough at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast by winning the mixed team championship gold was richer by ₹1.3 crore, thanks to the Badminton Association of India (BAI).
The president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Narinder Batra, and the president of the BAI, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, felicitated the players here on Saturday.
Terrific support
Chief coach P. Gopi Chand, while thanking everyone for the tremendous support for the game in the country, acknowledged the stupendous performance of the squad.
“We tried hard over the years to break through and win this gold. In a mixed team event, in which there are three doubles matches, we thought we could never win. The doubles teams did it. The victory belongs to the entire team,” said Gopi.
Saina Nehwal, who had the distinction of winning both the team and individual gold, was equally elated about the team gold, and put it above her own gold.
Realising a dream
“The team gold was a big dream for all of us. It was a great 15 days. Thank you for the felicitation. We hope to continue the hard work,’’ said Saina, who was presented a cheque for ₹20 lakh.
The 10 members of the team were presented ₹50 lakh, to be shared evenly.
P.V. Sindhu and K. Srikanth were awarded ₹10 lakh each for the silver medals.
The men’s doubles team of Satwik Sairaj and Chirag Shetty was awarded ₹15 lakh while Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy were presented ₹7.5 lakh for the bronze medal. Gopi was presented ₹10 lakh, while the other members of the coaching staff, apart from physiotherapists Tan Kim Her, Siyadath Ullah Siddiqui, Kiran, Johnson and Gayatri Shetty, got ₹7.5 lakh in all.
“I congratulate all the players for the first-ever team gold. In the coming matches, we will do our best,’’ said Sindhu.
K. Srikanth said, “it was one of the best Games this time.’’
Commending the performance of the team for winning two gold, three silver and a bronze, Himanta expressed confidence that the players would fare well in the World Championship and the Asian Games.
Pat from FICCI
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organisation (FLO), too, felicitated Saina and Sindhu, along with coach Gopi.
“As a coach I treat both Saina and Sindhu as precious diamonds. Winning or losing among both happens every day at the Academy,” said Gopi Chand.
FLO president Pinky Reddy said, “we believe that to achieve the holistic goal of women empowerment, more and more women need to engage in sports, and equal opportunities should be created for them.’’
