Tokyo Olympics: Sindhu was upset after losing semi-final, told her to relax, says mother PV Vijaya

As PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman athlete to win two Olympic medals back-to-back, her mother PV Vijaya said Sindhu was disappointed after losing the semi-final, but it was impressive to see how she bounced back in the bronze medal match.

Sindhu on Sunday became the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals. Sindhu defeated China's He Bing Jiao in the bronze medal match at the Musashino Forest Plaza Court 1.

"I am feeling very happy, in Rio she got silver and this time it is bronze. We are very happy. We have plans, we will celebrate nicely. Yesterday, she was a little upset, we told her to relax and play the bronze medal match to her potential," Sindhu's mother Vijaya told ANI.

Sindhu defeated Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 in the bronze medal match that lasted for 52 minutes. Sindhu had earlier returned with a silver medal at the Rio Olympics 2016.

"I am extremely happy, two medals in two Olympics, it is not an easy task for any player. To maintain the fitness and come up to expectation of a nation, I am thankful to the Government of India and all the officials. I just told her yesterday to do hard work and keep on marching ahead. I told her how she can create history by winning bronze. I just told her to take it as a gift for me," said Sindhu's father PV Ramana.

Talking about the win, Sindhu's sister Divya said: "Very happy, she is the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals back-to-back. This is a very big achievement, yesterday I think she was a little disappointed that she missed the gold medal, we asked her to get out of it quickly. She played her match today with a positive attitude. Winning the first set today helped her get confidence back."

The 26-year-old Sindhu is now just the second Indian athlete to win two individual Olympic medals. Wrestler Sushil Kumar also has two medals as he returned with a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics 2008 and a silver at the London Olympics 2012.

( With inputs from ANI )