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Grand Welcome for champions: After Telangana, Andhra Pradesh government felicitates PV Sindhu, Pullela Gopichand
PV Sindhu and her coach Pullela Gopichand were honoured by the Andhra Pradesh government in a brilliant felicitation ceremony.
New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu, who arrived in India on Monday to a rousing reception in Hyderabad, reached Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday for another ceremony. Along with coach Pullela Gopichand, the 21-year-old shuttler was honoured by the state government for her historic Silver medal at Rio Olympics 2016.
ALSO READ: (How India cheered for PV Sindhu's historic final match | PV Sindhu bags silver at Rio Olympics 2016)
Here's how the proceedings happened:
12: 55 pm - Sindhu and Naidu also exchanged a few rallies on the stage.
12: 40 pm - Sindhu has reached an auditorium where she met Chandrababu Naidu who handed over a cheque of Rs 3 crore to her.
12: 05 pm - Heavy security has been deployed all across the area as several police personnel can be seen walking along with Sindhu's bus.
11: 50 am - After the reception, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will present her a Rs 3 crore cheque. Naidu has also announced a 1,000 square feet residential plot in Amaravati for Sindhu.
11:35 am - Sindhu has been waving at all her fans who are delighted to welcome their hero.
11: 20 am - Sindhu and Gopichand will also take a holy dip in Krishna river on the last day of 12-day long river festival "Krishna Pushkaralu".
11: 15 am - As Sindhu`s parents have their roots in Andhra, many of her relatives are also expected to be there.
11: 10 am - Sindhu is the second Olympic medalist to come out of Gopichand's academy in Hyderabad. Earlier, Saina Nehwal had won a Bronze medal at London Olympics 2012.
11: 00 am - Not to forget, Sindhu defeated World No. 2 Wang Yihan and World No. 6 Ozomi Okihara before settling for Silver in the final against World No. 1 Carolina Marin.
10: 55 am - Sindhu is holding the tricolour in her left hand and has been waving to her fans with the left hand. The victory rally continues.
10: 48 am - The fans have gathered all around the bus. Sindhu and Gopichand are present on top of the bus along with some other officials.
10: 41 am - The Andhra Pradesh government had announced a cash reward of Rs 3 crore for Sindhu. Overall, the 21-year-old is all set to get richer by Rs 13 crore (Read full story HERE)
10: 37 am - Sindhu, along with Gopichand, are currently participating in the road show in the open-bus.
10: 35 am - Preparations are in full swing in Andhra Pradesh as well.
According to ANI, the 21-year-old will participate in a road show from from Gannavaram Airport (Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh) to Indira Gandhi Stadium, Vijayawada.
Earlier Gopichand and Sindhu arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad on the outskirts to a rousing reception.
The duo was welcomed by Sindhu's parents - P V Ramana and P Vijaya - alongside Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali with some ministers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh government.
From there, Sindhu and Gopichand left for Gachibowli stadium in an open-top bus for the felicitation ceremony. Thousands of fans, mostly school kids had gathered at the stadium to welcome their local superstar.
Later, addressing a press conference at Gopichand Badminton Academy, Sindhu said that she was really happy that her dream had come true.