Sachin Tendulkar honours Rio 2016 champs; gifts BMW cars to PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and Pullela Gopichand

At a function held at Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, PV Sindhu, the Silver medallist, bronze winner wrestler Sakshi Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar and badminton coach Pullela Gopichand were presented with BMW cars by Sachin Tendulkar.

Updated: August 29, 2016 1:41 PM IST

By Sandhya Dangwal

Sachin Tendulkar honours Rio 2016 champs; gifts BMW cars to PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and Pullela Gopichand

New Delhi, Aug 28: Indian ace players who made India proud by their stellar performance at Rio Olympics 2016, are all set for a bright future and a luxurious life-style. Shuttler PV Sindhu, wrestler Sakshi Malik and artistic gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripted history with their stunning performance at Rio Olympics 2016.. At a function held at Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, PV Sindhu, the Silver medallist, bronze winner wrestler Sakshi Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar and badminton coach Pullela Gopichand were presented with BMW cars by Sachin Tendulkar.

Being the Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian team at Rio Olympics, Tendulkar  handed over the keys at a function at Gopichand Badminton Academy. Hyderabad District Badminton Association president Chamundeshwarnath gifted the luxury cars to the four sportspersons for their outstanding achievement in the recently-concluded Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.(ALSO READ: After Rio Olympics 2016 silver, World No.1 position is my ultimate goal: PV Sindhu (Interview)

Star Indian badminton player Sindhu clinched the silver medal in women’s singles under the guidance of chief coach Gopichand. Gopichand is therefore termed as ‘Dronacharya’ who gave top badminton players, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal to the nation. This win made PV Sindhu the first Indian woman sportsperson to win a silver in the Olympics. Morover, grappler Sakshi bagged a bronze in women’s freestyle 58kg class and opened India’s winning account at Rio Olympics 2016. Dipa had finished fourth in the vault event and stunned the world by attempting the risky Produnova vault, however missing a medal by a whisker.(ALSO READ: PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik receive huge cash rewards, but was half the money spent for their training?)

Sachin Tendulkar also posted a photo of himself with the three Olympic champions, Sindhu, Sakshi and Dipa. Tendulkar took to  twitter and said, “In the company of champs who proved their mettle P V Sindhu Sakshi Malik Dipa Karmakar & super coach #PullelaGopichand.”

All the three performers received a rousing welcome when their returned to their home state after their magnificent feat at Rio 2016. Haryana government handed a cheque of Rs 2.5 crore to Sakshi and appointed her as the state’s brand ambassador for ‘Beti Padhao-Beti Bachao’ campaign. After her silver medal at the Olympics, the Telangana Government felicitated Sindhu with Rs 5 crore cash reward, a residential plot in Hyderabad, while the Andhra government presented her a cash award worth Rs 3 crore. To add more to it, the AAP government in Delhi has also announced Rs 2 crore for the star badminton player, while public sector oil company BPCL has announced Rs 75 lakh cash.

Owing to their remarkable performances at Rio 2016, these star players have won accolades and appreciation from across the nation. Twitterati went crazy when Sakshi clinched the first medal there ad opened India’s winning account followed by PV Sindhu. From Bollywood to cricketers, everyone congratulated the girls for their victory at Rio 2016.(ALSO READ: In a first, Government to confer Khel Ratna to PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and Jitu Rai)

During his Mann Ki Baat session today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his app was flooded with messages from people urging him to talk about India’s performance at the Olympics. Talking about the great win, Modi praised India’s medal winners PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, as well as Deepa Karmakar, Modi said our daughters have proved once again that they are no less than any other.

“We have to go a long way when it comes to focusing on sports. Sports needs motivation and public is the best entity to do it,” Modi said. “It is very good to know that our nation wants us to focus on extracurricular activities,” the Prime Minister said. Modi also mentioned in his statement that he has set up a Task Force to prepare the road map for the next three Olympics, urging state governments to do the same.

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