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PV Sindhu Aiming For Hattrick Of Olympic Medals In Paris Games

From spending time in a hypoxic chamber to sparring with a variety of partners to adapt to different styles, Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu has left no stones unturned to be battle-ready for the Paris Games, where she will be chasing an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic medal. Sindhu's form has been patchy of late but she says the hat-trick of medals is very much possible because the last eight months spent with mentor Prakash Padukone has instilled confidence in her. No Indian player has won three Olympic medals on the trot and a podium finish will make Sindhu arguably India's greatest athlete.

Ahead Of Women's Asia Cup Semis, India's Shafali Verma Gives Her Thoughts

Ahead of India facing Bangladesh in the first semi-final of 2024 Women's Asia Cup, big-hitting opener Shafali Verma said the defending champions do realise that the knockout clash is a very important thing for them. So far in the tournament, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led India have been unbeaten – defeating Pakistan by seven wickets, winning by 78 runs against UAE and beating Nepal by 82 runs to top Group A. “Really happy with the way we all have gelled up with each other and are winning the matches. The semi-finals is a very important thing for us. Today, we all have come up for practice and hopefully, we will do our best thing to do good tomorrow,” said Shafali in the pre-match press conference.

"PV Sindhu Is An Underdog In Paris Olympics": Ex Badminton Star

Former India shuttler Parupalli Kashyap on Thursday dubbed two-time medallist PV Sindhu an "underdog" at the Paris Olympics but said her name still carries a lot of weight and opponents would be wary of her big-match credentials. Eyeing an unprecedented third straight Olympic medal, Sindhu has not been at her best since returning from a knee injury in February. "It's her third Olympics, she won two medals in the last two Olympics and several world championship medals. So I think she feels she has an edge already even though her ranking doesn't say it or her recent form doesn't say it," Kashyap, an Olympics expert at JioCinema & Sports18, told reporters during an interaction.

Will Rohit Sharma-Gautam Gambhir Prove To Be 'Effective'? Ex-India Star's Blunt Take

Gautam Gambhir's stint as India's new head coach will begin from July 27, when Suryakumar Yadav and co will take on Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series. The series consists of three T20Is, followed by as many ODIs, starting from August 2. Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid to become India's new coach, whose tenure came to an end after India's victory at the T20 World Cup 2024. Gambhir, who won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup, is likely to bring a different approach to Team India.

"Us Against The World": Jasprit Bumrah Breaks Silence On Hardik Pandya-Rohit Sharma Captaincy Row

The IPL 2024 was marred with controversies when it comes to Mumbai Indians. The franchise decided to appoint Hardik Pandya as the captain in place of Rohit Sharma ahead of the new season - a decision that did not go down well with a section of the fanbase. As MI failed to perform well on the ground, Hardik faced a lot of criticism and he was even booed by some fans at the Wankhede Stadium. However, things completely changed after Hardik played a major role in guiding India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title. In a recent interaction, India and Mumbai Indians fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah opened up regarding the entire controversy and said that although things were bad, the team support Hardik in the tough times.

Rahul Dravid's Son All Set To Play In T20 League, Bought In Auction For...

Samit Dravid, son of former India head coach and captain Rahul Dravid, was on Thursday roped in by Mysuru Warriors during the player auction ahead of the upcoming season of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. Warriors acquired the services of Samit, a middle-order batsman and a seamer, for Rs 50000. "It's good to have him in our side as he has shown a lot of promise in various age-group tournaments for KSCA," a Warriors team official told PTI. Samit was part of the Karnataka under-19 side that won this season's Cooch Behar Trophy, and he has also played for KSCA XI against the visiting Lancashire side earlier this year. Warriors, the last season's runners-up, will be led by Karun Nair and their bowling will be bolstered by the presence of India pacer Prasidh Krishna, who was bought for Rs 1 lakh.

"Not Just Any Medal, But Gold": Ex Olympic Medalist On Indian Athletes' Mentality

Olympic medallist shooter Gagan Narang said Indian athletes' mindset has changed over the years and their confidence has touched unprecedented levels, encouraging them to set their sights on a gold medal. The London Games bronze medallist, who is serving as India's Chef-de-Mission at the Paris Olympics, felt the Indian athletes are now not intimidated by their counterparts from other countries. "There is a huge change in the motivation and the level of thinking our athletes have today. We used to feel scared, under-confident because other countries were better. But slowly that's changed, the mindset (has) changed," Narang told reporters here.

Olympics 2024: Badminton Legend Prakash Padukone Names Three Stars Expected To Win Olympic Medal

Badminton legend and ace shuttler PV Sindhu's mentor, Prakash Padukone believes that India have a strong chance of bagging three medals in badminton in the Paris Olympics including a hat-trick of medals for Sindhu. India has sent a seven-member badminton squad including the high-flying men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and double Olympic medallist Sindhu. Padukone said Sindhu is faring well for her historic third consecutive Olympic medal in Paris.

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Sports.ndtv.com Sport News

PV Sindhu Aiming For Hattrick Of Olympic Medals In Paris Games

Ahead Of Women's Asia Cup Semis, India's Shafali Verma Gives Her Thoughts

"PV Sindhu Is An Underdog In Paris Olympics": Ex Badminton Star

Will Rohit Sharma-Gautam Gambhir Prove To Be 'Effective'? Ex-India Star's Blunt Take

"Us Against The World": Jasprit Bumrah Breaks Silence On Hardik Pandya-Rohit Sharma Captaincy Row

Rahul Dravid's Son All Set To Play In T20 League, Bought In Auction For...

"Not Just Any Medal, But Gold": Ex Olympic Medalist On Indian Athletes' Mentality

Olympics 2024: Badminton Legend Prakash Padukone Names Three Stars Expected To Win Olympic Medal