PV Sindhu secured her place in the round of 16 at the Paris Olympics 2024 with a dominant victory over Estonia's Kristin Kuuba 21-5, 21-10. The Indian shuttler topped her group, setting up a clash against China's He Bing Jiao. As a two-time Olympic medalist, Sindhu is aiming for a historic third medal at this year's Games. Expressing gratitude for the support she has received, Sindhu acknowledged the pressure and responsibility associated with potentially becoming India's first three-time Olympic medalist. The shuttler shared these thoughts in a post-match press conference.
Sindhu on chances of winning third Olympic medal
"I think it's one match at a time. I feel really happy when people say that, you know, that they want a hat trick from you, We want that medal from you. It makes me feel really happy. You know, obviously, it comes with a lot of responsibilities, a lot of pressure. But it's important for me to just stay calm and just keep going one match at a time. Because you can't expect easy wins, So, yeah, you have to fight hard for it to earn it," Sindhu told the press after her final group stage match.
Sindhu, who had battled with injury over the most recent few years was generally untested in the gathering stage matches. She, in any case, didn't allow her force to drop and completed every one of her games in clinical way. Gotten some information about how she was feeling, Sindhu expressed that things wouldn't be as simple yet she was ready for the test.
"Well, I'm very happy. And, of course, I entered into the round 16 now. So obviously it was important for me to top the group and be number one in the group. So yeah, I think round of 16, I would be playing against He Bing Jiao, mostly. So, yeah, it's not going to be an easy match, but at the same time, I hope I take this confidence and, you know, move forward. I mean, you know, it's it's not going to be easy, you know, especially in the next coming rounds. Every match is important because you can't expect easy wins or you can't expect easy, easy matches or easy points. So I have to be prepared," Sindhu added.
"I'm perfectly all right, so, yeah, I mean, going forward, I think it's important to be 100% which I am at, and, there might be some bad days. There might be some good days, but I think it's important to back yourself up and just give your best. I mean, for me both the matches were very important because I know I was confident that I could win. But still, you know, I didn't want to take it easy and finish it off as soon as possible so that, you know, I prepared for the upcoming matches," Sindhu concluded.
Besides PV Sindhu, India's badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Lakshya Sen have won their groups to advance to the next round.
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