Gopichand sir congratulated me, Saina 'no': PV Sindhu
(Sourced from PTI)
PV Sindhu on Monday said she received a congratulatory message from Chief National Badminton Coach Pullela Gopichand but she has not got any such gesture yet from senior shuttler Saina Nehwal following her bronze medal-winning feat at the Olympics. Sindhu, on Sunday, became the second Indian to win two Olympic medals securing a bronze after a straight-game win over He Bing Jiao of China.
Asked if she received any communication from Gopichand and Nehwal after her win, Sindhu said, "Of course, Gopichand sir wished me congrats. That's all. I haven't seen social media. I am slowly replying to everybody." When further probed, Sindhu said, "Gopichand sir messaged me, Nehwal no. We don't talk much, so..." The Indian was addressing a virtual press conference on Monday.
There were reports of a rift between Sindhu and Gopichand after she flew to London for a training stint for three months amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Sindhu later said she had been to the UK for her recovery and nutrition program but after returning home, she decided to move out of the Gopichand Academy.
She said she decided to move and train at the Gachibowli Indoor stadium under Park Tae-Sang, triggering fresh rumors of a fallout between her and the chief national coach. Earlier, Sindhu had also said that her preparations were going on well and she doesn't miss Gopichand, who eventually decided not to go to Tokyo, vacating the position for men's singles coach Agus Santoso.
Gopichand has not spoken about his relationship with Sindhu. London Olympics bronze medalist Nehwal, on the other hand, had some fierce on-court duels with Sindhu, who has acknowledged the rivalry between them. There was speculation of friction between the two after Nehwal had returned to train under Gopichand in 2017 following a successful stint with former Indian coach Vimal Kumar in Bengaluru.
Nehwal, who failed to qualify for the Tokyo Games after a series of qualifiers was canceled, has not been too active on social media and of late hasn't posted any congratulatory messages for the Indian Olympic team.
