Sports Minister Anurag Thakur felicitated Indian shuttler PV Sindhu upon her return to the country from a successful Olympics campaign in Tokyo. Sindhu won the women's singles bronze at the Tokyo Games to become the first Indian woman to win two individual Olympic medals. She beat China's He Bing Jiao in the bronze medal match to add to the silver she won at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Sindhu and her coach Park Tae-Sang were felicitated at a ceremony in New Delhi, attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Nisith Paramanik among others.
"PV Sindhu is amongst India's greatest Olympians. She is India's icon, inspiration and has caught the imagination of every Indian who dreams of playing for the country," Anurag Thakur said on the occasion.
"Her incredible achievement - that of winning two Olympic medals in two consecutive Olympic Games will inspire a generation of budding athletes.
"Her success shows how the Target Olympic Podium scheme of the government has nurtured our Olympic hopefuls towards a podium finish.
"Just before setting off for Tokyo Olympics, she had an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and right after her victory he was the first person to call her and congratulate her. The nation of 130 crore Indians is thrilled by her smashing performance," said Thakur.
Sindhu's parents P Vijaya and PV Ramana were also present for the felicitation ceremony.
"I would like to thank each one of my fans because of the support and though we played without fans in the stadium, but I am sure billions have supported me from India and this success is the result of their wishes," said Sindhu.
"I would like to thank my parents for their constant support and scarifies and my coach for working with me and making this dream come true."