If you caught the women's singles final of the World Badminton Championships between Japan's Nozomi Okuhara and our very own PV Sindhu, chances are, you're still reeling from the adrenaline rush from the jitters-inducing close finish in Scotland last night.
Even as Indians are undoubtedly heartbroken over yet another world top spot slipping away from its talented sportswomen in the last crucial moments of a final -- a mere six Sundays ago, on July 23, the Indian women's cricket team lost the world cup to England by just nine runs -- no one can deny the spell-binding nature of the match between the two equally determined 22-year-old shuttlers. Iron will, breathtaking stamina and competitive spirit at its fiercest best were on display throughout the 110-minute slugfest, the second longest women's single badminton match and the longest match of the tournament.
In the end, even though Sindhu lost, the fact that she went down fighting tooth and nail was not lost on anyone. Saina Nehwal, who bagged the bronze and watched the final from the railing, later walked over to coach Gopichand and joked, "Mera petrol khatam ho gaya dekhte, dekhte (I ran out of fuel, just watching this game)! Wonderful match."
She wasn't the only one overwhelmed by watching the goings-on on the court. Emotions ran high as Indians rejoiced over the bittersweet victory of seeing two of its best players on the winners' podium, even as the top honour continued to elude them, and, predictably, many turned to Twitter as an outlet for their feelings and to congratulate Sindhu on her remarkable performance. From the Prime Minister to the public, and Bollywood stars, media persons, politicians, comics, and, of course, fellow sportspersons, no one was left unmoved.
Amitabh Bachchan
Ranveer Singh
Anil Kapoor
Dia Mirza
PM Narendra Modi
Maneka Gandhi (Union Minister for Women and Child Development)
Devendra Fadnis (Chief Minister of Maharashtra)
Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh)
Atul Khatri
Ramesh Srivats
Virender Sehwag
Mohammad Kaif
Nidhi Razdan
Rajdeep Sardesai
Hope we'll be cheering a gold very, very soon. Congratulations, PV Sindhu, you make India proud!
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