This is Telangana’s Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali:
Here he is felicitating PV Sindhu and basking in her glory after she returned home having become the first Indian woman EVER to win a silver medal at the Olympics:
But while he’s happy, he clearly thinks she should achieve more. Don’t believe us?
Here’s what he said :
Quite a hard taskmaster no? Remember he’s part of a government that is fighting to take credit for Sindhu’s achievement because the Andhra Pradesh government also thinks it can claim her as its own. This has worked out well for Sindhu so far because both the governments have been trying to outdo each other in their bid to claim her and that has meant better prizes.
Incidentally, Sindhu has a ‘proper’ coach, who is said to be giving some pretty ‘proper coaching’. P Gopichand’s methods are hardcore and he is considered one of the best badminton coaches in the country presently. And Sindhu was the first to acknowledge him after her historic Olympic victory.
Hopefully, the honourable minister will stick to celebrating her achievement and not making it sound like winning a silver medal at the Olympics (or even a gold) is a walk in the park. If he has any doubts, he can ask Sindhu about just what it took.
And obviously no one was very pleased with his statement: