by Saran, Renu
Saina continued her winning ritual and in 2009, she became the first Indian woman to win Indonesia Super Series. She also won the India Open Grand Prix.
So, when she walked into the P. Gopichand Badminton Academy in the evening, she was greeted like a superstar. The trainees, coaches, friends and well-wishers broke into an instantaneous applause. Receiving the accolades shyly and thanking everyone demurely, the girl got down to business straightaway. She tightened her shoe laces and began to warm up even before the din around her had died down completely.
In an interview followed by the tournament, Saina had said, “Celebrations can wait, but going through the regular grind is the most important thing for a player.”
Of course, Saina savour this moment and considered it as the most precious moment of her life. But she did not let her emotions get the better of her, especially in public. The best thing about Saina was that she remained the same regardless of her performance in a tournament. Whether it is victory, joy, defeat, or disappointment, the girl would just be the same.
In an interview for a renowned newspaper in India, Saina admitted that she was thrilled when her father called her up to announce her latest accomplishment.
She said, “I felt I was on top of the world when papa called.”
After this event, Saina was declared as the first Indian woman to achieve this feat in the era of new world rankings.
Her coach Gopichand was very excited to learn this achievement.
Gopichand said in an interview, “I always believed that Indian players are extremely talented but are not being offered good coaching. When I took over as coach, my important aim was to see a few Indian names in the top ten list. Saina started this process and I am confident that a few more will reach there soon.”
Saina became the second Indian woman to achieve this feat in the history of world badminton. Ami M. Ghia was the first to break into the top-10 of the Grand Prix world rankings in the year 1983.
The achievement served as the icing on the cake in a year in which she reached the quarter-finals of the Beijing Olympics and won the Chinese Taipei Open, her second Grand Prix crown and also reached the semis of the Singapore Super Series and the China Masters Super Series. The 18-year-old also won the Youth Commonwealth Games and the World Junior Championships in Pune.
Saina’s best year was 2010. This was the year in which she climbed up to the Number 2 position. It was the first time an Indian woman secured this position in the field of badminton. Saina holds an amazing quality. She just remembers the good times in her career that gives her a boost. The slump was erased from her memory. Saina just remembered her achievements, landmarks, trophies, and wins. She just relished being on top and getting accolades from fans.
Saina was proud to be an Indian and winning for her country was a pleasure. People had suddenly started to take notice of her. The entire world expected India to produce top badminton player. And Saina was definitely their choice.
For this budding badminton player, each victory counts. She also valued the accolades offered to her. The most prestigious one came in the form of Arjuna Award in the year 2009. This was soon followed by the Indonesia Open and the Chinese Taipei Gold Grand Prix. The moment was more special for her as Mr. Pullela Gopichand, her present coach was honoured with the Dronacharya Award.
In January 2010, Dr. Harvir Singh received a call. Saina considers this call as once in a lifetime. The call came from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The man informed Dr. Harvir Singh that his daughter was going to be honoured with Padma Shri and if she accept it. The call was dream come true for Dr. Harvir Singh. He was elated and conveyed the acceptance.
Incidentally, the following day was Republic Day and the news channels kept themselves busy reporting about Padma Shri winners. Saina’a name was endorsed with pride and the whole nation was singing her glorious achievements.
The award ceremony was conducted on 25th May. The young badminton player was happy to be at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The awardees were seated at the Durbar Hall of the Bhawan. The families were seated on the opposite side. Saina was honoured by the President of India, Pratibha Patil.
According to Saina, the president never spoke to the awardees. But as she went up the dais to receive the award, Ms. Patil informed her that she used to play table tennis. Saina was stunned and couldn’t react. Ms. Patil also added that Saina’s performance was not up to the mark at the Olympics. She also advised Saina to play well the next time. This was undoubtedly the happiest moment of her life.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is the closest to her heart. This is India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports. The term “Khel Ratna” means “sports gem” in Hindi. The award is named after the late Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India. It carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component.
The award was instituted in the year 1991-92 to supply the lack of a supreme national accolade in the field of sports. Predating the RGKR are the Arjuna Awards that have always been given to outstanding sportspersons in each of many sporting disciplines every year. The Khel Ratna was devised to be an overarching honour, conferred for outstanding sporting performance, whether by an individual or a team, across all sporting disciplines in a given year.
Only one among all sportspersons each year is selected for the award. For Saina, this precious moment arrived in the year 2010. After all, she deserved the award. The badminton player experienced a heart touching movement when both houses of the Indian Parliament gave her a standing ovation in December 2011. Another ovation followed in March 2012.
Some Special Moments
in Saina’s Career
Every sport star has special moments in his or her career. Super shuttler of India, Saina Nehwal is no different. She has played many tournaments and championships since she was a child. She definitely holds some special unforgettable memories with many of these tournaments. Here is a description of some of the most special moments in Saina Nehwal’s career.
The Junior Czech Open
The tournament was held in the year 2003. This was the beginning of Saina’s career. She believes that this game made her famous. Winning the Under-19 tournament in the international circuit was a dream. After this game, Saina was recognized as an international player. This was actually the starting of good things in Saina’s career.
The Philippine Open
The Philippine Open in badminton is an international open held in the Philippines since 2006. Saina Nehwal created history when she became the first Indian woman player to win a four-star badminton tournament. She defeated Julia Xian Pei Wong of Malaysia 21-15, 22-20 in the women’s singles final of the Philippines Open at Pasig City, Manila.
In an interview, Saina said “I am delighted and never expected to win such a big event so soon. My ultimate target is to win the All England championship one day.”
World Junior Badminton Championships
The BWF World Junior Championships is also known as the World Junior Badminton Championships. It is a tournament organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to crown the best junior badminton players (under-19) in the world. The 2008 BWF World Junior Championships took place in Pune, India, from 29th October to 2nd November 2008. This is renowned as a very prestigious tournament. Saina worked really hard to win this tournament.
Saina’s victory was a matter of pride for India. It was actually the victory for Indian Sports. With this game, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian to win badminton Super Series Title. In this game, Saina played really well. She varied her dribbles and flicks so well. She ran her rival around with a very tantalizing and beguiling mix and controlled the net play.
Indonesia Open 2009, 2010, and 2012
The 2009 Indonesia Open Super Series was the sixth tournament of 2009 BWF Super Series badminton tournament. It was held from June 16 to June 21, 2009 in Indonesia. Saina Nehwal scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after she clinched the Indonesian
Open title with a stunning victory over higher ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta. Saina clinched her maiden Super Series title beating Wang 12-21, 21-18, 21-9 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller that lasted 49 minutes.
Saina Nehwal during the women’s singles final medal ceremony
at the Indonesian Open 2009 badminton competition
in Jakarta on June 21, 2009
According to her former coach Pullela Gopichand, her triumph is the best ever performance by any Indian woman and at par with All England Championship titles won by Prakash Padukone. In the thrilling final, Saina (who was world number eight rank) at that time came from behind to outsmart world number three Wang. Saina took sometime to get into the groove as she struggled to gauge the game plan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a 4-9 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play to pocket the first game as Saina was left to do the catch up act.
But the Indian ace rallied her way back in the second game. Saina levelled the score at 5-5 and then moved together with her Chinese rival till 17-17 before surging ahead to pocket the second game 21-18. In the decider, Saina was in her attacking best besides displaying better nerves in crucial moments.
After moving neck and neck till 7-7, Saina went out of control by engaging her rival in soft dribble and net play to widen the gap at 15-9 before reeling off six straight points to seal her place in history.
In an interview, Saina said, “It was a really, really tough and I love the crowd here. It’s really nice here. Whenever I enter the court, I feel like a champion here.”
All England Championship
Saina Nehwal holds her
gold medal after defeating
China’s Lin Wang
The 2010 All-England Super Series was a badminton tournament held in Birmingham, England, Great Britain from March 9, 2010 to March 14, 2010. It was the third competition in the BWF 2010 Super Series. It was held in the National Indoor Arena.
Saina ranked world No.3 during the tournament. She won a thrilling and tight encounter against former World No.1 Shixian Wang at the National Indoor Arena and reached the women’s singles semi-finals.
Saina beat the sixth seed 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 in a marathon Super Series Premier match which lasted one hour and 14 minutes. This was the fourth time Saina beat Shixian in her five career meetings. In the process, Saina also ensured the exit of all Chinese women from singles competition. Saina dictated proceedings from the start as her Chinese opponent was uncomfortable against her. This was quite obvious after her three consecutive wins in last three encounters.
Saina playing in All England Super Series, Great Britain - 2010
This tournament was a big deal for her. Since the tournament is categorized under the ‘oldest’ ones in history of badminton, Saina’s participation was quite significant. The tournament is held each year for over a century now. It is a dream of every player to win this tournament. In India, there have been only two All England champions; Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand. Saina became the first Indian woman to carve a niche in the tournament. It was definitely a big achievement for her.
Commonwealth Games, 2010
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3rd to 14th October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games to date. It was also the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event. It was the first time that the Commonwealth Games were held in India and the second time it was held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998.
The media and the entire sports world termed Saina as India’s saviour after Commonwealth Games. Since, her victory propelled India to the prestigious number 2 position in the medals score, Saina was honoured and revered for her achievements. She also became a household name in most of the Commonwealth countries where badminton was a popular and highly respected game.
Saina during the
Commonwealth Games,
New Delhi, 2010
Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to enter the finals of the Commonwealth Games badminton event. History was made at the Siri Fort Complex in front of home crowd, when she easily defeated Susan Egelstaff of Scotland in straight sets 21-10 and 21-17.
The spectators’ cheered for her as she stepped onto the court which was the last game of the day. Because of her unforced errors, Saina lost the initial points and the crowd also fell silent. However, the match transformed into an entirely different level as she recomposed herself and took to the winning stride.
She swiftly snatched the first set in just 12 minutes from Egelstaff. However, the next game saw Susan pressing force. She started advancing which was powered by some aberrant faults committed by Saina at the net.
Fear spellbound the home crowd when Susan took a 17-16 lead from Saina. However, with maximum levels of diligence she advanced with a five pointer to enter the finals.
With this game, top seed Saina Nehwal became the first women Indian shuttler to win a gold medal in a singles event at the Commonwealth Games. This wasn’t easy for the ace shuttler though. She had to go through a grueling three-game victory over Mew Choo Wong from Malaysia in the individual badminton event. Saina actually bounced back from a game down to battle past Wong 19-21 23-21 21-13. It was a nail-biting 70-minute title clash in the women’s singles amidst the continuous cheering from the enthusiastic crowd at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
In the first game, Saina struggled a lot to judge the shuttle. She also lost few points at the forecourt and nets. The game actually slipped out of her hands after she trailed 8-11 at the break. But Saina wasn’t ready to give up. She came back strongly in the second. Her skills were displayed by increased number of cross shots and constant pushing of the shuttle at the back in the long rallies. This way, she came back from a 0-2 deficit to lead 14-10.
But Wong tapered the gap and wrested the lead at 21-10. Saina soon closed the game with two more points to roar back into the challenge. In the decider, Saina implemented a similar strategy and kept her rival away from the nets. She also used deceptive drops and tosses as weapons to lead 11-7. Saina secured her lead as Wong’s game crashed.
Wong kept hitting the shuttle out of the court and hit the nets in the final point. Saina’s happiness knew no bounds and she burst into tears. She ran into her mentor Pullela Gopichand’s arms as a gesture of gratitude.
Singapore Super Series, 2010
The 2010 Singapore Open Super Series is a top level badminton competition which was held from June 15, 2010 to June 20, 2010 in Singapore. It is the fifth BWF Super Series competition on the 2010 BWF Super Series schedule. The total purse for the event is $200,000.
This was one of the most important tournaments in Saina’a career. She won the Singapore Open with a straight-game triumph over qualifier Tzu Ying Tai in the finals. Top seed Saina took just 33 minutes to beat Chinese Taipei’s Tai 21-18 21-15 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The jubilant player confessed in an interview, “I never expected to reach the finals as there were two good Chinese players in the draw but I believed in myself and got the result I wanted.”
Hong Kong Super Series, 2010
Hong Kong Super Series is a top level badminton competition. It was last held from November 13, 2012 to November 18, 2012 in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is also the twelfth BWF Super Series competition on the 2012 BWF Super Series schedule. The total purse for the event was $350,000.
For the year 2010, it was the last of Super Series tournaments for that year. She won the title. It was the fifth gold in Saina’s treasure box. The best thing about this match was the Indian involvement in it. For India, Saina was bringing the medal after a gap of about twenty-eight years. The only India to have won this title was ace badminton player Prakash Padukone
.
Saina Nehwal had to beat China’s Shixian Wang 15-21, 21-16, 21-17 to clinch the Hong Kong Super Series badminton title. Saina fought her way to the final with a gruelling three-game victory over sixth seed Juliane Schenk of Germany in Wanchai.
Saina became India’s pride after earning a 21-19 17-21 21-12 win over Juliane in a 53-minute women’s singles semi-final match. She focussed on playing a tactical game after she lost the first game. Saina actually clawed her way back with some fast-paced rallies. Her dynamic smashes were enough to outwit the Chinese world number five. In the second game, Saina jumped to 11-5 from 5-5. However, Shixian narrowed the gap to 11-10 before her and rushed forward to 19-11 by registering seven straight points.
Saina missed a couple of points on the baseline and nets. This allowed Shixian close the gap to 19-16. However, the Chinese soon hit the shuttle out and Saina was back into the match. Towards the end, Saina and Shixian were engaged in a gruelling battle. Both didn’t give up an inch to each other.
Shixian continued to push the shuttle at the back court. However, Saina was determined and gave her best. She actually sent down some powerful cross court smashes to open up a 5-0 lead.
But Shixian managed to narrow the gap owing to a couple of misjudgements on the baseline. The Chinese started playing fast rallies. She caught Saina at the nets to hit the big time 6-7 but a series of spontaneous errors and a breathtaking cross court smash saw Saina change sides with an 11-9 lead.
Saina was back into her winning form and involved her rival in long rallies. She waited for Shixian to commit some errors. A controversial baseline call gave Shixian a lead of 14-13. However, Saina was in no mood to give up. She wrestled the lead at 15-14, before being locked at 16-16.
