Andhra CM hails Nehwal, Sindhu for Asian Games feats

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday lauded star shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu for making the country proud at the ongoing 18th edition of the Asian Games.

In a press statement, Naidu congratulated Nehwal and Sindhu for winning bronze and silver respectively in the prestigious event.

"Two Indian women won titles in badminton singles after 36 years and made the country proud. When I was the chief minister for nine years in undivided Andhra Pradesh, we worked for the development of sports in Hyderabad. We developed many stadiums and gave land for the development of Pullela Gopichand's academy. We encouraged badminton," the Andhra Chief Minister said.

Naidu further expressed hope that Saina and Sindhu would continue to perform well and scale new heights in the coming future. He added that the youth of Andhra Pradesh should take inspiration from them and perform well in sports.

He further said, "I congratulate Pullela Gopichand for encouraging badminton through his academy."

Earlier in the day, Sindhu settled for the silver medal after slumping to a 13-21, 16-21 defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei player Tai Tzu Ying in the women's badminton finals of the Asian Games.

Speaking to ANI, Sindhu had said, "There were matches in the tournament where I was about to lose but I fought back and won. I shouldn't be sad for not winning the gold as the overall competition was fantastic. It was a proud moment for the country having two Indians on the podium."

On the other hand, Ying also defeated Nehwal in the last-four clash of the women's badminton singles 17-21, 14-21 yesterday and the Indian star eventually had to settle for the bronze.