Tokyo 2020: ‘Sensational’ Sindhu beats He Bing Jiao to clinch bronze; grabs her second Olympic medal

In a contest that lasted 53 minutes, Sindhu dominated her Chinese opponent in the two games and claimed it in straight sets. Sindhu – who lost the semi-final against her nemesis from Chinese Taipei, Tai Tzu-Ying – was once again in her elements today as she hardly gave any chance to her opponent.

By winning the game, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win two individual medals at the showpiece. She is only the second athlete after wrestler Sushil Kumar to win back to back medals in Olympics. This is also India’s third consecutive medal in badminton at the Olympics. Sindhu won a silver medal in Rio 2016 after going down against Spain Carolina Marine in the final.

With this win, the Hyderabadi shuttler has established herself as one of the greatest Olympians of all time in individual sports.

Sindhu took the opening game 21-13 against Beng Jiao. It was another dominating game, that lasted for 23 minutes. Some really long rallies were played by the two shuttlers in the first game. The longest rally in the first game had 34 strokes. But Sindhu wasn’t bogged down by the challenges thrown by the eighth seed Chinese.

The second game also started on a dominant note for Sindhu as she took an early lead against the Chinese. However, the Chinese looked in better touch in the second and must-win game for her. But her game plans and strategies weren’t enough to put Sindhu under pressure as the Indian kept maintaining the lead.

Though the second game lasted for an engrossing 29 minutes, Sindhu was determined to not let the Chinese take the advantage away from her hands and ended up winning the match 21-15.

This is India’s second medal at the ongoing quadrennial event with boxer Lovlina Borgohain also ensuring a medal. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu was the first Indian to bag a medal in the Olympics when she grabbed a silver medal.