Elated over PV Sindhu winning the World Championships crown on Sunday, her mother P Vijaya said the ace shuttler always gave her birthday presents and this time she has given her and the nation a special gift.
Celebrations broke out at Sindhu's house here as soon as she landed the coveted world title.
Vijaya and other family members, who were watching the final live on television, congratulated each other and distributed sweets soon after Sindhu's victory.
“It’s a great moment for all of us. We are proud and happy over her historic win.”P Vijaya, PV Sindhu’s Mother
Sindhu on Sunday became the first Indian to win the BWF World Championships, crushing Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in just 36 minutes in a one-sided final in Basel, Switzerland. Sunday also happened to be Vijaya's birthday.
After her epic triumph, Sindhu dedicated the victory to her mother.
“I would like to thank my coach (South Korean Kim Ji Hyun) and Gopi sir (Pullela Gopichand) and also my parents. Today is my mother’s birthday, so happy birthday mom.”PV Sindhu
Responding to this, Vijaya said Sindhu always gave her birthday gifts.
“This time she has given a great gift to me and to the nation.”P Vijaya, PV Sindhu’s Mother
Vijaya said Sindhu worked hard for the World Championships for the last six months. "We were all waiting for this great moment," she said.
Vijaya believes that Sindhu's victory in the quarterfinal over world No.2 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei was the turning point.
Sinshu defeated Tai Tzu 12-21, 23-21, 21-19 to storm into the semifinal before humbling world No.3 Chen Yu Fei of China 21-7, 21-4 for a place in the final.
This was Sindhu's third consecutive final at the World Championships, having been beaten by Okuhara in 2017 and Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain in 2018. Sindhu had also won bronze in 2013 when she was just 18 and repeated the feat the very next year.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)