Eluru: On a day when the entire country came together to support badminton player PV Sindhu, her father PV Ramana rushed to Ratnalammakunta, a remote village in Pedavegi mandal of West Godavari district on Friday. He offered prayers to their family deity Ratnalamma in the village, for the victory of his daughter in the badminton finals at Rio.
"Ratnalamma is our family deity and it is customary for our family to offer puja at the temple. We have been offering prayers to the Goddess since our ancestors time. With the blessings of the Goddess and crores of people, I am hopeful that Sindhu would return home victorious," Ramana told reporters outside the temple.
He thanked the people for their support to his daughter and recalled the encouragement by her badminton coach and mentor Pullela Gopichand. Later, he rushed back to Hyderabad to be with the family members to witness his daughter's game on television on Friday evening.
The forefathers of PV Sindhu belong to West Godavari district who moved to Guntur.
Later, Ramana shifted to Hyderabad for his sports career in volleyball. Sindhu's mother belongs to Vijayawada. Though Sindhu is born and brought up in Hyderabad, she has frequented to all three places - Ratnalammakunta, Guntur and Vijayawada. Even before she left for Rio, Sindhu along with her family members visited Ratnalamma temple in June and offered prayers.