Capturing the second Grand Prix event of her career, Saina Nehwal has brought back memories of the great Prakash Pandukone and has rekindled the status of India as a world Badminton power, bringing back laurels in a sport which originated here
“Main toh jeet he gayee thi, pata nahi kya hua or final set mein main haar gayee, mujhe nahi pata kya hua, 9-2 ki lead ke baad hi main haar gayee”. These were the words of Saina Nehwal after capitulating in a tense three set battle with the world no. 4 Maria Kristin Yulianti in the Quarter – Final of the Beijing Olympics. She was a whisker away from becoming the first Indian to take a plunge for a Badminton medal at the most coveted stage. What happened at the Olympics was pure inexperience on the part of Saina, who just a day earlier took out a potential Olympic winner in Chen Weng. This was her first Olympics and reaching the last eight was an achievement in itself.
Currently ranked 14th in the world, Saina has earlier captured the Phillipines Open tite a couple of years back as a sixteen year old. With the win at the Chinese Taipe open, she becomes the only player from India to have won two Grand Prix events and yet she is just 18. In a sport which is dominated by the East Asian nations like Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Korea, it is a refreshing sign to see a player from India doing so well. She has achieved all this, against all odds. With scuffles between Sports Authority of India (SAIL) and the national badminton federation, the players were in a lurch. Unfazed by the lack of training time and unprofessionalism on behalf of the authorities, Saina prepared hard and reaped the rewards by clinching her first IBF title at Manila. She kept her focus and did well in the warm up events leading to a magnificent last eight performance at Beijing.
This win at Taiwan will surely help her come closer to a top ten position and if she continue the good work, it would not be too long before we see her in the elite league of players fighting for top honors at World Cups and Grand Prix events worldwide. Coached by the former All England champion Pullela Gopichand, the girl from Hyderabad has captured the imaginations of millions of Indians with her aggressive style of play and agility on the court. After oneeha Aggarwal, but she is of her national triumphs, during an interview Saina was asked about her postures and mannerisms, she replied in the most affirmative fashion by saying that she was here to play Badminton and not to look pretty. She emphasized that her prime and only objective is to play to the best of her abilities without caring about the looks. This is the kind of focus that has taken her to dizzy heights in her discipline. Today she might not be a much talked about player, compared to a Sania Mirza or a Neha Aggarwal or for that matter Anjali Vedpathak Bhagwat, but she is delivering the goods in the best possible manner. Am pretty much sure thrat by the time 2012 Olympics in London come upon us, she will be a top contender for a medal
Being runner up in the world junior championships in 2006 and a national champion in 2007 at Patna, Saina at just eighteen years shows great promise right rom te start of her career and today she is continuing the great run.
“Main toh jeet he gayee thi, pata nahi kya hua or final set mein main haar gayee, mujhe nahi pata kya hua, 9-2 ki lead ke baad hi main haar gayee”. These were the words of Saina Nehwal after capitulating in a tense three set battle with the world no. 4 Maria Kristin Yulianti in the Quarter – Final of the Beijing Olympics. She was a whisker away from becoming the first Indian to take a plunge for a Badminton medal at the most coveted stage. What happened at the Olympics was pure inexperience on the part of Saina, who just a day earlier took out a potential Olympic winner in Chen Weng. This was her first Olympics and reaching the last eight was an achievement in itself.
Currently ranked 14th in the world, Saina has earlier captured the Phillipines Open tite a couple of years back as a sixteen year old. With the win at the Chinese Taipe open, she becomes the only player from India to have won two Grand Prix events and yet she is just 18. In a sport which is dominated by the East Asian nations like Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Korea, it is a refreshing sign to see a player from India doing so well. She has achieved all this, against all odds. With scuffles between Sports Authority of India (SAIL) and the national badminton federation, the players were in a lurch. Unfazed by the lack of training time and unprofessionalism on behalf of the authorities, Saina prepared hard and reaped the rewards by clinching her first IBF title at Manila. She kept her focus and did well in the warm up events leading to a magnificent last eight performance at Beijing.
This win at Taiwan will surely help her come closer to a top ten position and if she continue the good work, it would not be too long before we see her in the elite league of players fighting for top honors at World Cups and Grand Prix events worldwide. Coached by the former All England champion Pullela Gopichand, the girl from Hyderabad has captured the imaginations of millions of Indians with her aggressive style of play and agility on the court. After oneeha Aggarwal, but she is of her national triumphs, during an interview Saina was asked about her postures and mannerisms, she replied in the most affirmative fashion by saying that she was here to play Badminton and not to look pretty. She emphasized that her prime and only objective is to play to the best of her abilities without caring about the looks. This is the kind of focus that has taken her to dizzy heights in her discipline. Today she might not be a much talked about player, compared to a Sania Mirza or a Neha Aggarwal or for that matter Anjali Vedpathak Bhagwat, but she is delivering the goods in the best possible manner. Am pretty much sure thrat by the time 2012 Olympics in London come upon us, she will be a top contender for a medal
Being runner up in the world junior championships in 2006 and a national champion in 2007 at Patna, Saina at just eighteen years shows great promise right rom te start of her career and today she is continuing the great run.
We hope that in the times to come she realizes the dream of a Sayyed Modi, Prakash Pandukone or of her present coach Pullela Gopichand, the dream of winning an Olym.pic medal
Author: Asif Islam, A dedicated sports lover since 1989, following closely the various aspects of popular sports worldwide. Writting articles and analytical reports on players and events since 2003.Email - asif2311@rediffmail.com
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