Published on 12:00 AM, August 20, 2016

Sindhu wins silver in badminton

P.V. Sindhu of India plays against Xiaoyu Liang of Singapore during their women's singles match at the Badminton Asia Team Championships. File Photo: AFP

P V 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 in the women's singles badminton competition of the Rio Olympics on Friday.

The 21-year-old Indian crumbled under the relentless pressure created by Marin to lose 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in a pulsating final that lasted for an hour and 23 minutes at the Rio Centre.

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