After being felicitated by the Telangana government, Olympics silver medalist P V Sindhu and her coach Pullela Gopichand got a grand reception today at the Indira Gandhi stadium in Vijayawada from the Andhra Pradesh government.
Sindhu and her coach arrived at the Gannavaram airport from Hyderabad in a chartered flight. Several cabinet ministers, MPs and MLAs received them at the airport and brought them to the city in a huge procession amid pomp and fervour.
Later, AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu received and felicitated Sindhu and Gopichand. Naidu said that Sindhu had rewritten the history of Indian sports by clinching a medal at an unexpected moment. He promised to support her so that she could progress her career further.
In a short speech, Sindhu thanked the AP government for honouring her. "Due to the blessings of the people, I have come this far. My parents and coach also encouraged me all along. As a kid I used to watch Gopichand play. He is my inspiration," she said.
Praising Gopichand for training Sindhu, the CM offered him a 15-acre plot in the proposed Sports City in Amaravathi and invited him to set up a world-class badminton academy there. He also offered State funding to the proposed academy and promised to publicize it to attract aspiring players.
Speaking on the ongoing war of words between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over Sindhu's nativity, he said, "Sindhu has her roots in Andhra Pradesh as her father is from Eluru and her mother is from Vijayawada. This is undeniable."
filed in:Chandrababu Naidu, P V Sindhu, Pullela Gopichand, Sports & Adventure