We have great faith in Kynan
I’m very excited. I am leaving day after to see him at Rio. I haven’t seen him in a long time. We have great faith in him and I have asked everybody to pray. Kynan has always been interested in pistols, since his father has been a shooter. He was about 8 years old when we went to New Zealand, where my sister took him to a shooting range. At the range, he shot 22 out of 25... and the gun was bigger than him! He could barely hold it, he was so small. The whole shooting club stopped and came to watch him. They couldn’t believe it. I called up his father and informed him about it, he said ‘it’s impossible’. That’s when my sister said, ‘Now you go to the Olympics straight’ and Kynan replied ‘One day I will’ and there he is.
Dinaz, Kynan Chenai’s mother
Sindhu has worked really hard to be here
We are very happy she has been selected for Rio. Since both me and her mum are into sports (Ramana is an Assistant sports officer, South Central Railway and mom P. Vijaya, is a former volleyball player), we always encouraged her.I have seen the way she has trained; she has worked really hard to be where she is. I had taken leave from work and was with Sindhu till she qualified, as a moral support. And after she qualified, we were delighted.
P.V. Ramana, P.V. Sindhu’s father
We pray every single day for Sania
I am tensed for Sania (Mirza) all year around. There is a difference between tennis and other sports. Tennis tournaments are played throughout the year so we are always praying for her. My only advice to Sania is to give her best and God will look after the rest.
— Imran Mirza, Sania Mirza’s dad
We are seasoned parents
Jwala is a seasoned player and as parents, we have also become seasoned with time. These days we are not as tensed and nervous as we were during her initial years. But, we still pray for her while she is competing. The only advice I always give her is that it’s very important to have fun. It will be, of course, nice if she wins a medal but if she doesn’t, she should enjoy the sport. We always travel with her for her tournaments. This time too we are going to Rio.
— Kranti Gutta, Jwala Gutta’s dad
Sumeeth’s mother is his strength
Sumeeth has made us very proud. He came back after an injury, and has now achieved this — a place at Rio. I still remember the days when he would travel 120 km every day for his badminton training, without a single complaint. Sumeeth is very hard working, sincere and determined. He sometimes gets discouraged after he loses and I keep encouraging him. I remind him of how he started off with only one goal — of being the best in Hyderabad — and he has reached this level. Sumeeth’s mom, Nirmala, has always been his strength, waking up early to make sure that he practises, packing his lunch, taking care of his diet — she does everything for her son and he has made us proud.
— B.C. Bhasker, Sumeeth Reddy’s dad
