Sindhu, Gopichand Get Grand Welcome In Hyderabad

Badminton player and Olympics silver medalist P V Sindhu and her coach Pullela Gopichand came home to a grand reception from the Telangana government at the Shamshabad Airport this morning, on their return from the Rio Olympics.

Sindhu and Gopichand were welcomed at the airport by Sindhu's parents; Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya; Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali, Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, IT Minister K T Rama Rao, Transport Minister Mahender Reddy and Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav; Andhra Pradesh ministers Chinna Rajappa, Devineni Umamaheswhara Rao and Kesineni Nani; and GHMC Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and Commissioner Janardhan Reddy.

It was a moment of great pride for the player and her coach as several ministers, MPs and MLAs stood in a queue to greet and felicitate them.

From there they boarded a luxury bus bedecked with garlands, and headed for the Gachibowli stadium, where they were felicitated by government officials.

Speaking on the occasion, Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao praised the Indian female Olympians for their performances in the 2016 Olympics, and said that they had undoubtedly made the nation proud.

"Our female sportswomen protected the nation's honour at the Olympics despite poor facilities and conditions," Rao said.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Beti Bachao" vision, he emphasized the need to provide equal opportunities and a safe environment for women in the State so that they could flourish and realize their dreams.

KTR promised Sindhu and Gopichand that the Telangana government would soon roll out a new sports policy, under which the government would be able provide world-class training facilities and other incentives to sportspersons so that they would be fully prepared while representing the nation.

Narasimha Reddy, too, showered praises on Sindhu and Gopichand for bringing laurels to the nation and the State. He and Mahender Reddy asked the youth to take a cue from Sindhu and strive for similar achievements in their areas of interest.

Chief Minister KCR announced a cash reward of Rs. 5 crores for Sindhu and Rs. 1 crore to Gopichand for the achievement.