Smiling Pinki flips coin at Wimbledon

London: Indian youngster Pinki Sonkar, beneficiary of a life-changing cleft lip surgery, flipped the coin at the Wimbledon men`s singles final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, here on Monday.

Clad in a white T-shirt and trousers with a white necklace, Pinki entered the Centre Court confidently, waving towards crowd. She shook hands with the officials and the two finalists and also posed for photographs. The 11-year-old Indian girl represented New York-based Smile Train, which helped her receive free cleft treatment in 2007. Smile Train is world`s largest cleft lip and palate non-profit organisation, which was chosen as the charity partner to perform the flip of the coin at the men`s singles event. Smile Train aims to provide free surgeries to people born with cleft lip and palate. Pinky, whose life was captured in the Oscar winning documentary `Smile Pinki`, also travelled United States in her tour to share her story. After watching the match, Pinki will have lunch in the Competitors` Restaurant. During her stay in London, Pinki will partake in additional events in honour of the tournament, including meeting with many of Smile Train`s supporters. Doctor Subodh Kumar Singh, who performed Pinki`s cleft surgery in 2007, is accompanying her on the tour. PTI