PV Sindhu’s South Korean coach Park Tae-Sang is not very conversant with Hindi, but the two words he has learnt helped his ward during her bronze-medal winning match in Tokyo on Sunday.

“In important moments when she gets a point and the pressure is very high, the next shot or rally, it’s very easy to make mistakes. That is when I say ‘aaram se’,” he said on Monday during a virtual interaction where he shared the spotlight with Sindhu. “It helps her to stay focused.”

On Sunday, Sindhu defeated China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to become the first Indian woman to win two individual Olympic medals. She had won a silver in Rio 2016.

The easy banter between Sindhu and her coach underlined how important he has become in her scheme of things.

“Sindhu was already a big star when I started to train her. I said I would try to get Sindhu a gold medal. But bronze is also a big medal, so I am really happy,” he said.

Asked what was going through her mind when she earned the final point, Sindhu said: “I was completely blank, my coach was in tears, it was a big moment, I hugged him and thanked him. I didn’t know what to do for a few seconds. Then all the emotions came out.”

Asked if national coach Pullela Gopichand had called to congratulate her, she said: “Gopi Sir did send me a message congratulating me.” And did Saina Nehwal? “We don’t really speak much,” Sindhu replied with a smile.

Off the court

Tai Tzu-Ying, who went down in the final to China’s Chen Yu Fei 18-21, 21-19, 18-21, has thanked Sindhu for her words of encouragement after the loss.

“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.”