PV Sindhu who? Hyderabad MLA calls Olympic hero a volleyball player

She may be one of India’s most recognisable sports stars after the Rio Olympics. But that doesn’t mean PV Sindhu can expect the politicians in her home city of Hyderabad to recognise her or know who she is.

The shuttler, who’s the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal, was in for mortifying moment at the start of a 5k run organised on Friday, when an All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA couldn’t remember anything about who she was during his speech. Thanks to some seemingly unhelpful inputs, MLA Mumtaz Ahmed Khan finally declared her a “national volleyball player”.

What’s worse, is that the MLA consulted none other than the Deputy Chief Minister M Mahmood Ali to figure out what Sindhu did to become famous. In the video doing the rounds on social media, Mumtaz Ahmed has a whispered conversation with the Deputy CM – who repeatedly nods at his words – before loudly telling the crowd, “We thank our national volleyball player.”

Sindhu has no choice but to keep a fixed smile plastered on her face as the speech continues.

Of course, it probably came as no surprise that the Deputy CM had no clue about Sindhu and her achievements, since this isn’t the first time that Mahmood Ali has made a public gaffe about her.

Previously, when Sindhu had returned triumphant at her silver medal in the Rio Olympics, Mahmood Ali had promised her something she could never have expected – “a better coach”. That Sindhu was already being coached by Pullela Gopichand, arguably the finest badminton coach in the country, was completely lost on the Deputy CM. "Sindhu is our daughter. The government will provide a better coach. We are confident that she will win gold medal,"  he said during a TV interview.

Soon after his comments went viral on social media, earning the politician brickbats by the dozen. Yet, it seems that he is yet to register any more facts about Sindhu.

Watch a video of the incident below.