Shuttler PV Sindhu, the only Indian woman to win two Olympic medals, received a warm welcome on Tuesday as she returned to India after claiming a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The reigning world champion, Sindhu, who had won a silver medal at the Rio Games five years ago, walked out of the Indira Gandhi International Terminal in New Delhi amid a round of applause from the airport staff. She was flanked by security officers while wearing a face mask.
The star Indian shuttler was received by Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary Ajay Singhania, along with other officials of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Delhi. Sindhu and her Korean coach Park Tae-sang were also felicitated by Singhania at the airport.
"I am very happy and excited of course. Everybody congratulated me and I am thankful to BAI and everyone for supporting and encouraging me. It is an exciting day and a happy moment," she said.
By winning the bronze on Sunday, Sindhu became only the second Indian and first women athlete from the country to bag two Olympic medals. The 26-year-old from Hyderabad defeated China's He Bing Jiao to win the bronze medal play-off.
PV Sindhu has also taken to Twitter to thank the dignitaries who congratulated her on winning the bronze medal. The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to award Rs 30 lakh to PV Sindhu on her achievement. While leaving for Tokyo, the state government gave her Rs 5 lakh as incentive.
Previously, PV Sindhu was appointed as Deputy Collector in the Andhra Pradesh government, besides receiving an award of Rs 3 crore as cash prize and a 1,000 square-yard residential plot in Amaravati after winning a silver medal at Rio Olympics in 2016.
Wth PTI inputs