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RIO DE JANEIRO --- The story goes that as a 14-year old at the Pullela Gopichand academy in Hyderabad, PV Sindhu would tower over other players in her age group. Alvaro Morata Chelsea Jersey . The daughter of volleyball players, her father Ramanna in fact captained India and is an Arjuna awardee. Sindhu was genetically blessed.Gopichand recognised very early on that this was not just another eager student among his campers. He nurtured her and drove her relentlessly as Sindhu grew taller, stronger, faster and more skilled. Over the last few days in Rio, that near decade long investment has repaid spectacularly.Having scalped three players seeded above her en route to the Olympic final, Sindhu has already claimed permanent membership of an elite club of Indian female athletes who have won individual Olympic medals.Each of the four women to have done so previously - Karnam Malleswari, MC Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and now Sakshi Malik, won bronze. Sindhu is already assured a silver. Minimum. Only three other Indian athletes since independence have an individual Olympic silver - Rajyavardhan Rathore, Sushil Kumar and Vijay Kumar. Only one has Gold.After her semifinal win on Thursday, Abhinav Bindra tweeted - What a player, PV Sindhu. I am waiting for you to join me in the club. You have no idea how lonely it has been!When asked to respond, Sindhu shyly smiled - Definitely I would want to make that wish come true, I will play my heart out.Playing her heart out is the only way Sindhu knows. Soft-spoken and mild off the court, she is demonic on it. Every point won is met with a fierce yelp to herself and a left-handed fist pump that resonates like a power punch. In her semifinal against Nozomi Okuhura, Sindhu barraged them out with what appeared to be increased intensity.Okuhura had beaten her in their last three encounters but on this day, the Japanese was the punching bag, resisting as well as she could to an incessant storm. Sindhu set the pace on a raucous, noisy day at the badminton arena, unleashing a blistering attack.More than once she would commit an inexplicable error but more than once she would leave Okuhura tumbling on the ground, failing in a desperate scramble to reach the shuttle, sent across court with a whizzy, spicy velocity. At just a shade over 51, Okuhura surrendered nine inches in height to Sindhu.Were we back in Hyderabad at an age-group tournament? Was she 14 again? Was she whipping a hapless girl, intimidated by the sheer wingspan of her rival across court?Nah. This was the World No.6. Okuhura has been constructed to overcome her deficiency in stature. If Sindhu is lean and long-limbed, Okuhuras lower body strength powers her game.Okuhuras legs visibly stockier, clearly toned with hours of gym work, carry her through matches like these. She anticipates being in extended confrontations made up of long rallies, plenty of retrieving and defensive play, plotting her way to find pathways to exploit. Sindhu offers her a few in the opening game where she holds on to the lead throughout but watches it being chipped away. 5-3. 10-6. 12-8. 14-10. 15-13. 19-17. 21-19. Phew.It takes three minutes short of half hour, but Sindhu is resilient and pockets the first game. Okuhura is unflustered. She has prepared for this.Just like at the start of the match, she engages in a meditational routine at the start of game two, standing by the court, eyes closed in apparent prayer. Sindhu only needs a word or two from Gopichand. His voice is assuring in this cauldron. He has been there since she was kid. You got this girl, forget about the stage. You are 14, beating up on an opponent like youve always done. Look, shes so much shorter!Game two and we get a stirring passage of play. Sindhu inches ahead 3-0, whipping a forehand across court, a shot she has used to great advantage in the match so far. Okuhura urges her extended forearms to reach it but they can only go so far. And then, a sudden momentum change with the next five points going to the Japanese.Indian people, boosted by the Sakshi Malik bronze on the night before, believe the wretched times in Rio are gone. The Japanese, as is their wont, are organised even as cheering squads. They co-ordinate the drum beats, the flag waving, the applause, heck - even the urgings from the stands. Yet again, like we havent had this enough already, a gnawing tension crawls up the spine.7-5. 7-6. 7-7. 9-8. 10-10.A few minutes later Sindhu is talking to us. Ah yes, she wins the next 11 points at a stretch.Think about that, slowly. Olympic semifinal. World number six. A neck and neck contest. And Sindhu wins 11 straight points. It is a manic finish, a storm of smashes that leave Okuhura gasping and rudderless. She is beaten well before she loses. The contest concludes with a snarling, murderous assault on the shuttle. 21-10.Sindhu will leave these shores with a medal. She has beaten the little girl at the other end. It feels like she is 14 again.So now onto Carolina Marin. The buccaneer from Spain who has raided her way atop the world rankings with a couple of seasons of high-pitched, gritty play. Left-handed and bursting with gumption, not unlike another racquet wielder from her country, Rafael Nadal, Marin has won the last two World championships.She has not lost a game in her four matches in Rio so far and brushed aside 2012 Olympic champion Li Xureui, who picked up an injury towards the end of their match, 21-14, 21-16 in the semifinal.Sindhu and Marin are not unfamiliar foes. They have clashed six times, with the Spaniard leading the head to head 4-2. However, it has been nearly a year since they come across each other and Marin will know that this is not the Sindhu she is accustomed to.It is going to be a good match, maybe Marin holds the edge in terms of the record, Gopichand says. But it doesnt really matter. It is a big match and Sindhu has to stay her course and execute the plan. Marin being a left-hander doesnt matter, we will prepare accordingly.Perhaps all Sindhu needs to do is be 14 again. Mateo Kovacic Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Victor Moses Jersey . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. http:///...ater-chelsea-jersey/ . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico -- Pat Perez won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba on Sunday in his third start since returning from shoulder surgery.Perez closed with a 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over third-round leader Gary Woodland on the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon course. Perez finished at 21-under 263.I had an attitude that I cant really repeat, but I had a lot of thoughts going on, Perez said. The main one was I wanted to stay aggressive. I knew if I just stayed aggressive I was seeing the line great on the putting green. ... This type of grass and these greens, if you can get it on line you can make them.I just saw the line, I thought I could make them all and I just had a confidence. I had an entirely different attitude than I would have had a few years ago. It was definitely a different win than last time. Last time, I was a little more scared coming down the stretch. I didnt really believe and this and that. This time, I really had like this calmness, kind of like a madness to get it done.Perez had surgery on his shoulder in February. He returned with a tie for 33rd in Malaysia, and tied for seventh last week in Las Vegas.When you hit 40 and then you have surgery, its like `Oh, God, you know, what are we going to do? Perez said. I had sleepless nights, I had a lot of sleepless nights wondering, `What are we going to do? How are we going to do this? Whats going to happen here? What would happen here? Because all you do is sit around and think. Thats all you have time is to sit around. Youre just sitting in a sling doing nothing and you cant hit balls ffor five months. Andreas Christensen Chelsea Jersey. I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things.Perez shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within a stroke of Woodland. The 40-year-old former Arizona State player birdied five of the first eight holes and had a bogey on the par-4 12th.In a lot of ways, when you win youve got to have a lot of things go your way, Perez said. Youve got to make a lot of putts, you need some help from other players. Its everything. Its so hard to win. But I just had this different look about it this week and Ill hopefully carry that through for a while.He also won the 2009 Bob Hope Classic.I guess Im just one of those late-maturers, Perez said. I know I was sort of a punk and all that early on, but I think I learned a lot about myself in the last nine, 10 months and it just paid off this week. I couldnt be more excited about whats going on.Woodland birdied the final two holes for a 70.Russell Knox was third at 18 under after a 66.I wasnt all that comfortable out there. Knox said. This course kind of makes you put the steer on sometimes, but I made seven birdies. A couple mistakes, but overall starting the day I would have taken 66.Chez Reavie (67), Kevin Streelman (65) and Scott Piercy (70) were 17 under.Great first, third and fourth rounds, just struggled there on Friday, which cost me winning the tournament, but a lot of good stuff, Streelman said, pointing to a second-round 73. Obviously, its early in the year and real excited. ' ' '