The smiles said it all as the chief national coach P. Gopi Chand and his two illustrious wards — Asian Games silver medallist P.V. Sindhu and the bronze medallist Saina Nehwal — flashed their proud achievements on arrival at Gopi Academy here on Thursday.
“It is never easy to win a medal in an event like Asian Games which comes once in four years. It is always great to come back with a medal and to see the happiness of the fans all over,” Saina said.
“Yes, the target will be definitely to change the colour of the medal next time hopefully,” Saina said.
“We have been through tough situations where it didn’t matter whether we were facing the World No.1 for No. 50. But, I am glad that I could win a medal in my fourth Asian Games and this completes my achievements in all major international events including Olympics, Worlds, Super Series and now the Asian Games,” she said.
Proud moment
For her part, Sindhu felt winning two medals in badminton in the Asiad for the first time for India was definitely a proud moment for the country. “It feels great when the flag goes high on the podium. Something we can’t express. For me this was second Asiad and winning individual silver (after team bronze in last edition) is a great feeling,” she said.
“The journey since 2016 Rio Olympics silver has been great. Definitely, I can’t compare my silver in all three events- Olympics, Worlds (twice) and now Asian Games. But, I must say all are special moments for me,” she said.
“There are lot of things to learn even from a defeat and look forward, We have to take the positives and get the confidence by working out on the weaknesses,” Sindhu said.
Gopi brushed aside that there is disappointment at India missing a gold having come so close.
“I don’t think this is the last final we (Sindhu vs Tai Tzu) played. Very proud moment to see the first women’s individual medals in Asiad which was almost like Olympics. I must say both Saina and Sindhu have many years of badminton left. So, hopefully will win a gold in four years time,” he said.
“Well, to beat the likes of Tai Tzu who I think is a complete package of a champion player, one has to be consistent and really work hard. We have never seen a woman player like her, who is aggressive, smart, emotionally strong and runs around quite a bit. You have to have your game at top level consistently. Still, I believe both Saina and Sindhu had their moments against Tai Tzu,” he said.
