Hitting her way to success

In the past one week, when the rain gods seemed to have disappeared from the Indian skyline, sports definitely brought in some relief. Indian cricketers too brought a smile on our face. The men-in-blue hit the jackpot and pocketed Asia Cup after 15 long years.

And not long after that, Indians got one more reason to rejoice. Saina Nehwal won the Djarum Indonesia Open Super Series Badminton Tournament, playing against Japan’s Sayaka Sato. The victory helped her to climb the global ladder of ace badminton players, landing her at the third position.

Having a great season this year, Saina has marked her claim on other 2 titles of Indian Open and Singapore Open in just 19 days, bringing in 3 titles to her credit and all handled with consistency. Saina reminds us of yesteryear badminton player Prakash Padukone, who too won 3 international badminton events in a row.

Immediately after her win in the Indonesian Open, Saina is now focussing on the World Championship to be held in Paris from August 23-29, 2010. It is to be followed by the Commonwealth Games, Delhi in October and Asian Games, Bejing in November.

Her series of victories proclaim her passion for the sport. Besides her hard work, the credit also goes to her parents Harvir Singh and Usha Rani, who themselves were the badminton champions at state level.

The 20-year-old Hyderabadi girl’s dreams are bigger. But certainly not self-centered. Ranking is not her goal. Winning gold medals for the country is her motive.

With 64,791.2637 ranking points, Saina stands at third place globally, just behind the two Chinese opponents Wang Yihan and Wang Xin, who rank first and second respectively. Saina’s unbeaten victory in 15 matches in a row – a rare phenomenon in sport like badminton – has put a feather in her cap.

Mentor Pullela Gopi Chand, a former badminton player himself, said Saina’s ranking is bound to come down as she will be giving a miss to several tournaments this year, only to focus on the Commonwealth Games and the Asiad.

All-in-all, the young girl has bagged 15 career titles since the age of 14, including Czechoslovakia Junior Open in 2003; National Championships & National Games in 2007; Commonwealth Youth Games & World Junior Badminton Championship in 2008; International India Grand Prix in 2009.
The Czechoslovakia Junior Open set a major breakthrough in her career. She also gave her best in the Commonwealth Games of 2004, but could not win a medal.

The most promising female Indian badminton player and an emerging youth icon, Saina has always hitched her wagon to a star and has made India proud. With all her determination and conviction, Saina is all set to make a mark in the world badminton map.

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