Sindhu sets sights on gold at Tokyo Olympics

Thiruvananthapuram: India's first world badminton champion P V Sindhu on Wednesday said her next aim was to bag the gold in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and she would have to work much more harder.

Speaking on the sidelines of a reception accorded to her by the Kerala government and the state Olympic Association here, the ace shuttler said the upcoming Denmark Open and Paris Open events would be a sort of qualifiers for the quadrennial event.

"Definitely my ultimate aim is to get (Olympics) gold.

But it's not going to be easy. I need to work much more harder. Denmark Open and Paris Open are ahead of the Olympics.

So this is the like Olympic qualifiers," she told reporters.

"Winning and losing is part of life. Some days you win. Some day we lose. But I learnt from my mistakes and hope to do well at the Denmark Open," she added.

Replying to the felicitation at the function, she said it was a great pleasure to be honoured by the Kerala government.

"I would like to thank everyone for honouring me and felicitating me. From Kerala, the support towards sports is fantastic. For Tokyo 2020, I would take the love and support and hope to get a gold," she told the roaring crowd of students and youngsters.

Sindhu had missed the gold when she lost to Spain's Carolina Marin in the final of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio.

Earlier in the day, the ace shuttler offered prayers at the famous Lord Padmanabhaswamy shrine and the Attukal Devi temple here.

She also took part in a colourful roadshow in the city.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who felicitated Sindhu, said she was the pride of India.

"She is the first Indian woman to win the world championship in badminton. She is one among the best woman sportspersons in the country. She was targeted and taunted when she lost twice in the world championship. But she never lost her confidence and proved that she was fighter in the court," Vijayan said.

He also said she used the criticism against her to fuel her fight forward.

The State Olympic Association presented her a cheque for Rs 10 lakh.

Sindhu became the first Indian to bag gold at the world championships in August this year, after beating Japan's Nozomi Okuhara. She had previously lost in the finals twice.