PV Sindhu owes it to her coach, former national champion and All England championship winner P. Gopichand for what she has been able to achieve. P.Gopichand has been instrumental in producing champs from his academy at Gachhibowli in Hyderabad and has played an instrumental role in shaping Sindhu.

“It is because of him I am here today. It is because of the way he has coached me since the age of 10. I am thankful to him. He has been supportive and motivating. He is there on court since morning until evening. He is very patient. There are so many players coming up. Outside the court, Gopi Sir is normal and friendly, but on court as a coach he has to be serious!” she says.

For a 21-year-old, winning a medal is always joyous but requires not just effort but also belief in oneself that one can do it.

“I always believed in myself and my coach (Gopi Sir) also believed in me. My coach also said,‘I don’t expect you to get a medal but I want you to give your best. This is your first Olympics and I don’t want any pressure on you. I really trained and worked hard and I focused on one match at a time and it went on from match to match.”

And she reached the finals too!