“I didn’t think I would have an Olympic medal at 21, but I knew I would give my best and play my game. I just viewed it as my first Olympics and that I would take it one match at a time, but to bring a silver home made me very, very happy.”

Saina is not someone special player that I have to win against. It’s not like that I must beat her. She is one of the players.

I will keep working on different aspects of my games. It’s not so easy, and I need to work on every stroke.

I am aggressive only on court.

You have to keep working all the time. How much you learn, there is always room for learning; you will have to keep improving all the time.

My coaches have always been on my side, motivating me to try harder and harder every day, which is not easy.

You can’t compare one tournament with another.

Winning a tournament at the end of the year boosts your confidence a lot.

It’s always good to win a title.

The year 2017 has been really good for me. Definitely, a lot of positive things to learn from.

There will be many obstacles in the pursuit of your dreams. I had long hours of training, balancing studies and badminton.

Your dreams are what define your individuality. They have the power to give you wings and make you fly high.

I went to school like any other regular student till Class VIII, and my favourite subject was math. From Class IX, things got a little difficult to manage. I was inclined towards studies, but then I also had to give time to badminton.

We need to be always prepared for every match.

Sometimes it does upset you when you lose in the finals, or even in a quarterfinal or semifinal, especially when you think, ‘Maybe I could have played better,’ or even if you gave your 100 percent, and even then, you lose.

Be it ‘Mary Kom,’ ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,’ or ‘Dangal,’ each one was inspiring in its own way. But my favourite is ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.’

I think the coaches have to play a big role in the players’ development.