Rio Olympics: Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj join nation in praising Sindhu

New Delhi, Aug 18 (ANI): With P.V. Sindhu assuring India of a silver medal in women's singles in the ongoing Rio Olympics by crushing Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday congratulated the ace shuttler for her inspiring victory and entering the finals. "Showering accolades on her for the amazing performance, Mrs. Gandhi said that P.V.Sindhu has made the entire Nation proud by her spirited game. Smt. Gandhi also congratulated coach, Gopichand, Sindhu's parents and all well-wishers," the Congress said in a statement. Echoing similar sentiments, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also congratulated Sindhu for her fantastic win. "We are proud of you. Praying for your Gold. @Pvsindhu1," Swaraj tweeted. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also joined the Congress top brass in showering praises on Sindhu. "Congratulations PV Sindhu on entering the finals of women's badminton in Rio! First prospect of a gold or silver: you have excited a nation!," he tweeted. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee also congratulated Sindhu for assuring India a second medal. After sweeping aside her Japanese opponent in the first game, the 21-year-old lanky shuttler from Hyderabad continued her rich vein of form to dominate the second game as well. Sindhu, the two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, registered an emphatic 21-19, 21-10 victory in the thrilling semi-final contest that lasted 49 minutes to become only the second woman player in badminton to win an Olympic medal after Saina Nehwal. Sindhu will also become the fifth Indian woman to clinch a medal in Olympics history after Karnam Malleswari, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and Sakshi Malik. In addition to this, Sindhu will also become the first Indian woman badminton player to win a Gold or Silver medal in the prestigious quadrennial event. Earlier, Sindhu had kicked off her Rio Olympics campaign with a 22-20, 21-19 victory over Yihan Wang of China in a gruelling quarterfinal contest. Sindhu, who has assured India of its second medal in the ongoing Olympics after bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, will now play the gold medal match against Spaniard World No. 1 Carolina Marin. (ANI)