Tokyo:Shattered after going down in the Olympics women's singles final, world number one badminton player Tai Tzu Ying has revealed that Indian ace P V Sindhu's words of encouragement after the medal ceremony left her in tears.
Competing in her third Olympics, Tai Tzu finally stood atop the podium, finishing with a silver medal after going down to Chen Yu Fei of China 18-21 21-19 18-21 in the final here on Sunday.
Five years ago at the Rio Olympics, Sindhu had emerged second best as she went down to Carolina Marin of Spain in a hard-fought three-game loss and the Indian knew exactly how the world no.1 shuttler was feeling.
"After the match, I was satisfied with my performance. Later Sindhu ran over and hugged me, held my face, and told me: I know you're uncomfortable and you've been very good, but today isn't your day. Then she held me in her arms and said she knows all about it," Tai Tzu wrote on her Instagram account.
"That sincere encouragement, made me cry. I was really sad because I tried really hard. Thank you again for your support and encouragement. Thank you all for walking with me till now," she added.
On Saturday, Tai Tzu had defeated Sindhu, the Rio Olympic silver-medallist and the reigning world champion, 21-18 21-12 in the semifinals, ending the Indian's hopes of securing the country's first-ever gold medal in badminton.