Indian badminton star PV Sindhu, who made the whole country proud by winning her second Olympics medal on Sunday, said she hopes that she can inspire a new generation. Talking to AFP about adding winning bronze at Tokyo Olympics 2020, she said it will for sure motivate other.

The world champion beat China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to add another prize to her collection, five years after her silver at the Rio Games. She added, “I’m sure a lot of youngsters and others will get motivated to work hard and come up,” she said. “I’m sure we can do this. If I can do it, everybody can do it.”

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Sindhu, who was aiming to become only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal, lost to Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-finals on Saturday. She said she was “sad” at not being able to go one better than her 2016 silver. But she was able to put the disappointment behind her to claim bronze.

“I had to close all my emotions for this one match and just give my all,” she said. “I’m very happy and I think I’ve done really well. Getting a medal for the country is definitely a proud moment for me and also the people out there.”

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After her 2016 Olympic silver, she won the world title in 2019. She said she would “definitely” look to challenge for Olympic gold again at the 2024 Paris Games, and backed herself to continue improving.

“Every time I win, it’s a stepping stone,” said the 26-year-old. “It builds up my motivation. I can do much better and I can work harder. “I think that’s my passion towards the sport — once you achieve something, you want to achieve more and more.”