PV SINDHU – Central News Hub

Sindhu is India’s only female athlete who has won multiple Olympic medals…reports Asian Lite News

Indian table tennis veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal and ace shuttler and two-time medallist PV Sindhu share excitement for the ‘one-time opportunity’ of being flagbearers for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, scheduled on Friday.

Sharath Kamal, who will feature in his record fifth Olympics, was selected as India’s flagbearer in March this year but Sindhu was named as the female flagbearer earlier this month.

“Waiting for July 26 (Friday), when we’ll be leading the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony in Paris (Olympics). It’s been a moment that I’ve been dreaming and visualising about, for the last 3-4 months. I’m pretty excited that I’m going to live that moment and especially that I’m going to do that with PV Sindhu. So, it’s a fantastic moment, I would say,” said Sharath Kamal.

Notably, in 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) updated its protocol, permitting one female and and one male athlete from each NOC to bear the flag jointly during the opening ceremony of the Summer Games.

Sindhu is India’s only female athlete who has won multiple Olympic medals. The ace shuttler won the silver medal in the women’s singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics and followed that with a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“Yes, I’m very happy to be the flag bearer with our fellow Indian, Sharath Kamal. It’s a proud moment for both of us and of course, it’s a one time opportunity for anyone to be a flag bearer and representing our country, and it’s at the Olympics, standing there, right in the front, holding an Indian flag, it’s a very proud moment for both of us and of course he’s like a super senior to me. I’ve known him for a very, very long time, so it’s always nice to be holding a flag with the fellow Indians,” said Sindhu.

Sindhu, on the other hand, will be playing in her third consecutive Olympics and is excited for the competition to begin, where she will be eyeing her third consecutive medal to become the most decorated Indian athlete at the Olympics.

“I am super proud to be here at Olympic village. This will be my third Olympics, and really excited for the competition to begin. At the same time, I will be the flag bearer for the Indian contingent and I am super proud… I will be holding the bigger flag at the opening ceremony and I hope, with the same excitement, I do well in the competition and get a medal back to India,” Sindhu added.

Paris 2024 will mark the first time in the history of the Olympic Summer Games that the opening ceremony is held outside a stadium. This outdoor concept also makes it the largest opening ceremony in terms of audience and geographical coverage.

Almost 100 boats carrying an estimated 10,500 athletes will float along the Seine during the parade. The larger of the 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) represented in the parade will have boats to themselves, while the smaller ones will share boats.

Bindra Lights Up Paris

Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra feels honoured to carry the 2024 Paris Olympic flame and said he is humbled to be part of the sporting pinnacle.

Bindra, who made history by simultaneously being the world and Olympic champion for the men’s 10-metre air rifle event, joined the Paris 2024 Torch Relay event on Wednesday and was thrilled to hold the spirit of the Games. The former shooter became the first Indian athlete to win a first-ever individual gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“Carrying the Olympic flame yesterday in the Paris 2024 Torch Relay was an honour beyond words. The spirit of the Games lives in each of us, and I am humbled to be part of this incredible journey. Let’s continue to inspire, dream, and achieve together! #Paris2024,” Bindra posted on ‘X.’

The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11, with 117 athletes from India representing the country in the mega quadrennial event. Some of the biggest names from the Indian contingent include two-time medallist shuttler PV Sindhu, who will be the country’s flag-bearer in the opening ceremony alongside table tennis veteran Sharath Kamal on Friday.

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PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Saina Nehwal handed tough draws in BWF

Malvika Bansod is the third Indian in the women’s singles draw and starts her campaign against Danish world No. 21 Line Christophersen…reports Asian Lite News

After a successful campaign at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, Indian badminton players, including PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, will be keen to continue their stellar run at the BWF World Championships 2022 which starts in Tokyo from August 22.

World No 7 Sindhu, who won her maiden singles gold at CWG 2022 in Birmingham, will be eyeing her second world title, having won the event in 2019.

However, it will be a challenging task for the two-time Olympic medallist, who may run into Wang Zhi Yi of China, the reigning Asian champion, and An Se Young of Korea, ranked No. 3 in the world badminton rankings, even before the semi-finals.

Sindhu got a bye in the first round and will potentially face Wang Zhi Yi in round three. An Se Young remains a possible opponent for the quarterfinals if the seedings play out.

Meanwhile, former World No 1 Saina Nehwal will return to the court after missing the CWG. The London Olympics bronze medallist, currently ranked 28th, will meet Jong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi in her opener and may come across world No 6 Nozomi Okuhara of Japan as early as in the second round.

Malvika Bansod is the third Indian in the women’s singles draw and starts her campaign against Danish world No. 21 Line Christophersen.

Among the men, India’s Kidambi Srikanth (ranked 13th), Lakshya Sen (10th) and HS Prannoy (18th) are in the same half of the draw, and only one of them can make the semi-finals.

The focus will be on Lakshya, who won the men’s singles gold in Birmingham this week. He also got a first-round bye for the Tokyo world championships.

Srikanth and Lakshya won the silver and bronze medals, respectively, at the last edition of the world championships in Spain. World No 5 Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia and World No 2 Kento Momota of Japan will be the major threats for the Indian men.

B Sai Praneeth is also part of the touring party but has a tough first assignment against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, the current world No 4 in his way, an olympics.com report said.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, gold medallists from Birmingham 2022, will lead the Indian charge in men’s doubles. Indian pairs Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy, Krishna Prasad Garaga/ Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala and MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila are also in the fray.

On the other hand, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand and Ashwini Ponnappa/ N Sikki Reddy will be India’s best hopes in the women’s doubles, where Pooja Dandu/ Sanjana Santosh and Ashwini Bhat K/ Shikha Gautam will also be looking to impress.

The mixed doubles section will see two Indian pairs, Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto and Venkat Gaurav Prasad/ Juhi Dewangan, in action. Overall, a total of 27 shuttlers will be part of the Indian contingent in Japan.

Indian shuttlers have ensured 12 podium finishes at the world badminton championships but Sindhu’s gold medal in women’s singles back in 2019 remains the only gold in the lot.

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