Rio Olympics: Vijay Goel congratulates Sindhu, Gopichand for scripting history

New Delhi, Aug. 19 (ANI): Lauding P.V. Sindhu, as she booked her place in the finals of the women's singles event with a straight-game victory over Nozomi Okuhara of Japan at the Rio Olympics, Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel has congratulated the badminton star and said that India is proud of her. "Amazing performance by P.V. Sindhu in badminton in the Rio Olympics. I would like to congratulate her and her coach Gopichand. It shows their confidence and their hard work. India is proud of them and the whole country is congratulating her," Goel told ANI. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also showered praises on the ace shuttler and wished her all the best for her final encounter against World No. 1 Carolina Marin. "Superb performance @PvSindhu1. You make India proud! Best of luck for the finals. #Rio2016," he said in a tweet. President Pranab Mukherjee also took to Twitter to laud the shuttler. "Hearty congratulations #PVSindhu, well played, all the best for the finals #PresidentMukherjee," he tweeted. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj 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)