Emotions spilled on the court as Sindhu-Carolina hug each other after Rio Olympic final

Emotions spilled on the court as Sindhu-Carolina hug each other after Rio Olympic final

PV Sindhu’s gallant attempt to win a coveted gold medal for India ended in heart-break when she went down fighting against Spain’s Carolina Marin and settled for a silver medal in the women’s singles badminton competition at the Rio Olympics on Friday. As the Rio Olympic final match ended, Sindhu and Carolina were seen hugging each other, giving an emotional touch to a fight which was aggressive minutes before. Here are few images:

Emotions spilled on the court as Sindhu-Carolina hug each other after Rio Olympic final

The 21-year-old Indian, who has been simply unstoppable in the tournament so far, crumbled under the tremendous pressure created by the two-time World Champion from Spain to lose 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in a high-intensity final that lasted for an hour and 23 minutes at the Riocentre here.

Emotions spilled on the court as Sindhu-Carolina hug each other after Rio Olympic final

Sindhu thus became the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004, Athens) and Vijay Kumar (2012, London) and wrestler Sushil Kumar (2012, London).

Emotions spilled on the court as Sindhu-Carolina hug each other after Rio Olympic final

The two-time World championship bronze medallist also became the fifth woman player from India to win a medal in Olympics history and the first to clinch a silver. She is also the youngest India to win a medal at the Olympics.

Emotions spilled on the court as Sindhu-Carolina hug each other after Rio Olympic final

The hyper-aggressive Marin mixed power with precision to dominate the rallies with her acute-angled smashes interspersed with clever drops to catch the Indian often on the wrong-foot.