Hyderabad, Aug. 19: As Spain's Carolina Marin snatched the final point and the gold in the Olympic women's singles badminton final in Rio dashing a billion Indian hopes, back in Hyderabad P.V. Sindhu's father was a picture of calm.

"It's OK," said P.V. Ramana, getting out of his chair in the front row of the Pullela Gopichand Academy where hundreds had gathered to watch the final on a giant screen, wildly cheering her on to the sound of firecrackers and beating drums.

"We are happy with her performance. Marin, her opponent, is not an easy player and deserves the championship. Some might be disappointed that Sindhu settled for a silver, but we assure you that in the coming years and tournaments, under the continued guidance of Gopi, she will bring bigger laurels to our country," Ramana, a former volleyball player and Arjuna Award winner, said.

Her mother, P. Vijaya, pointed to what Sindhu had won in her defeat - apart from the silver, the hearts of over a billion Indians.

"She definitely has won the hearts of the Indians. Her game appeared a little dull but it is OK. She is the youngest Indian badminton player to play in the Olympics and bring home a silver," Vijaya, also a former volleyball player, said.

As he had done after Sindhu's semi-final win yesterday, Ramana once again thanked her coach, Pullela Gopichand, and gave him credit for helping her bring home the Olympic badminton silver for the first time.

Gopi would analyse by and by why the 21-year-old shuttler came up short, he said, but there was one major flaw he had spotted in his daughter's game.

"Sindhu has to learn to shout and scream more to come back into the game," Ramana said, speaking at a news conference after the final along with his wife and Gopichand's wife, P.V.V. Lakshmi.

Commenting on Sindhu's performance, Lakshmi, a shuttler who played in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, said ups and downs were a part of sport.

"Sindhu did a good job but I felt that if she had played like she did yesterday, the gold would have been ours. But silver too is a great achievement," she said.

"Her feat will encourage more youngsters from here to attempt to reach the Olympics. Hyderabad is the badminton hub of the country and will remain so."

Yashvi Malik, a nine-year-old Delhi boy who recently began training at Gopichand's academy, said: "It was disappointing but I enjoyed watching the game."

Sixteen-year-old Sai Rohit, who has been training for the last four years, said: " Akka (elder sister) made some unforced errors but playing the World No. 1 is no small feat. She gave her best. Next time, maybe we can be assured of a gold."

Soon after the match, Sindhu's father got congratulatory calls from governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and sports minister Vijay Goel.

Andhra sports secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam, who too congratulated the family, said the government would announce a reward for Sindhu based on what Telangana lines up. Sindhu's mother Vijaya is from Andhra and her father is from Telangana.

Vijaya told The Telegraph: "We will receive Sindhu in a grand way. She has been away from home for 25 days, so I will prepare all her favourite dishes - pulihora (tamarind rice), payasam, Mysore pak, biryani and chepala pulusu (fish curry)."

Gopichand's mother, Pullela Subbaravamma, who is involved with managing the badminton academy, said her son and Sindhu shared a special relationship.

"Gopi has a lot of affection and commitment for Sindhu. She has a lot of respect for him. The relation between them is of a father-daughter, brother-sister and yes, a guru-shishya," she said.