Thiruvananthapuram: Ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu was felicitated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a function jointly organised by the Kerala Sports Department and Kerala Olympic Association here on Wednesday.
Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the felicitation ceremony which was presided over by state sports minister E.P. Jayarajan. Other state ministers, MPs and MLAs attended the function.
Pinarayi Vijayan said Sindhu winning the World Championship has turned out to be a morale booster for the entire sporting fraternity in the country.
"Her fighting spirit has helped her to be very successful and today in the country, she has become a sporting icon. She has the grit and determination to go forward and win bigger laurels. Sindhu has a huge following in Kerala and we seek her help for supporting the state in taking forward the sporting activities," the Chief Minister said.
Pinarayi Vijayan presented a memento to Sindhu. He hoped that the ace shuttler will win the Olympic Gold in Tokyo.
Sindhu began and concluded her speech in Malayalam. She thanked Kerala for all the love and support. During the event, Sindhu launched ‘Kerala Olympics’, Kerala’s first web portal and Youtube channel. The channel aims to make sports competitions and championships held across the state available online.
Earlier in the day, the ace shuttler was welcomed by Kerala Olympic Association officials and sportspersons at the international airport here.
Dressed in a typical Kerala saree, Sindhu visited the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Attukal temple and Kerala Olympic Association office ‘Olympic Bhavan’ before attending the program. She was later brought to the felicitation venue in a procession in an open jeep.
Ultimate aim is to win gold at Tokyo Olympics: P.V. Sindhu
Speaking to media at Olympic Bhavan, Sindhu, who recently became the first Indian world champion, said all her focus now remains on clinching the top honours at next year's Tokyo Olympic Games.
"Right now, my focus is on the 2020 Olympic Games and my main aim is to work hard and give my best in Tokyo," Sindhu told reporters on the sidelines of an event where she was facilitated by the Kerala government.
"My ultimate aim is to get gold. I know it's not going to be easy and I need to work hard," she added.
In August, Sindhu became the first Indian to bag gold at the world championships after a dominating win over Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the final.
Sindhu had missed out on the gold medal as she lost to Spain's Carolina Marin in the summit clash in the 2016 Olympics. However, now the 24-year-old is committed to improve her performance at the prestigious quadrennial event and turn the silver she won in Rio into gold.
However, her form dipped a bit as she made early exits from the China Open and Korea Open to slip to the sixth spot in the latest rankings. Sindhu will now look to bounce back at the French Open World Tour Super 750 tournament starting in Paris on October 22.
(With inputs from IANS)
