Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal (सायना नेहवाल) (born 17 March 1990), daughter of scientist Dr. Harvir Singh Nehwal of village Dhindar in District Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. She is an Indian badminton's wonder girl, became the first Indian woman to be Number One in the World Ranking. Nehwal won gold at 2018 Commonwealth Games in women's singles after defeating P. V. Sindhu after which she became the first Indian to win 2 singles gold in commonwealth games.

She had won a four-star badminton event when she clinched the Philippines Open in Pasig City, Manila, in May of 2006. She was decorated with country's prestigious civilian award Padma Shri on 26 January 2010. She is winner of Gold Medal in women's badminton singles in Commonwealth Games 2010 at Delhi.

Saina Nehwal was awarded with Padma Bhushan-2016. Previously, the nation's top two sporting honours, namely the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award, were also conferred on her by the Government of India.

Her family

She was born on March 17, 1990. Her parents Dr. Harvir Singh, a Principal Scientist at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Usha Rani were former State champions in Haryana. Harbeer Singh's home town is Dhindar village in Distt Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Her sister is Chandranshu Nehwal BJP politician

Career

Indian badminton's latest find Saina Nehwal defeated eight-time reigning National champion Aparna Popat in straight games in the final of the Asian Satellite Badminton Championship in New Delhi to the surprise of everyone.

The teen wonder has badminton in her blood. Her parents Dr. Harvir Singh, a Principal Scientist at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Usha Rani were former State champions in Haryana.

Saina Nehwal

Saina is a very humble and god fearing girl.Saina's talent was noticed when she was just nine and former all England champion P. Gopichand took her under his wing when she was 13. She is a 12th standard student.

She was born at Hisar and studied upto 3rd standard at Campus School CCS HAU Hisar.Her uncle Dr.Jaivir Singh is Sr.Scientist in the Department of Plant Breeding at CCS HAU Hisar. Recently she was runner up in the world Junior Badminton Championship held at Incheon,Korea.On 17th November,2006, she won Asian Satellite Badminton Championship held at Mumbai.

2006–2009: In 2006, Saina became the under-19 national champion and created history by winning the prestigious Asian Satellite Badminton tournament (India Chapter) twice, becoming the first player to do so. In May 2006, the 16-year-old Saina became the first Indian woman and the youngest player from Asia to win a 4-star tournament – the Philippines Open.[20][21] Entering the tournament as the 86th seed, Saina went on to stun several top seeded players including the then world number four Xu Huaiwen before defeating Julia Wong Pei Xian of Malaysia for the title. The same year Saina was also the runner up at the 2006 BWF World Junior Championships, where she lost a hard fought match against top seed Chinese Wang Yihan. She did one better in the 2008 by becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships by defeating ninth seeded Japanese Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18.

She became the first Indian woman to reach the quarter finals at the Olympic Games when she upset world number five and fourth seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in a three-game thriller. In the quarter-finals Saina lost a nail biting 3-gamer to world number 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti. In September 2008, she won the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2008 beating Lydia Cheah Li Ya of Malaysia 21–8 21–19. Maria Yulianti had earlier lost her quarter-final match to Pia Bernadet, Saina's semi-final opponent, thus denying Saina a rematch. Saina was named "The Most Promising Player" in 2008. She reached the world super series semifinals in the month of December 2008.

In June 2009, she became the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title,[25] the most prominent badminton series of the world by winning the Indonesia Open. She beat Chinese Wang Lin in the final 12–21, 21–18, 21–9. Saina on winning the tournament said, "I had been longing to win a super series tournament since my quarter final appearance at the Olympics". Saina is on the par with the likes of Prakash Padukone and her mentor Pullela Gopichand who both won the all England championships which are of similar status to the super series. In August 2009, she reached to the quarterfinals of the World Championships, losing to the second seed Wang Lin.

2010: Saina successfully led the Indian Women Team to the Quarter-finals stage of the 2010 Uber Cup finals. Saina became the first Indian Woman to reach the semi finals of 2010 All-England Super Series before losing to eventual champion Tine Rasmussen. Top seeded Saina reached the semifinals of Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Championships 2010 losing out to unseeded eventual champion Li Xuerui of China. Saina's Coach Gopichand advised her not exert too much pressure on herself due to the overwhelming home crowd support. Saina wins the 2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold, beating Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia in the final and thus justifying her billing as top seed in the tournament. She won a prize money of $8,280 for winning this BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament. Nehwal, again seeded no.1 in the Singapore Open Super Series 2010, entered the finals defeating World champion Lu Lan of China. Saina won the second Super Series title of her career by beating qualifier Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei in the final of the Singapore Open 21–18, 21–15. But the fact that she won the tournament in the absence of all the top 5 ranked players takes a little sheen away from her path breaking victory. Saina won a prize money of $15,000 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament. Saina reached a career high of world no. 3 in the women's singles badminton world rankings on 24 June 2010. Saina defended her Indonesia Open super series title in three tough games against Sayaka Sato of Japan, 21–19, 13–21, 21–11.This is her third super series title and her third successive title following wins at Indian open, Singapore Super series.[Subrahmanyam, V. V. (27 June 2010). "Saina Nehwal clinches third Super Series title". The Hindu. Chennai, India] She again won the top prize money of $18,750 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament. On 15 July 2010, with 64791.26 points Saina Nehwal reached a career high world ranking of No. 2 only behind Wang Yihan of China. 2nd seed Saina, a tournament favourite, crashed out of the 2010 BWF World Championships in Paris after losing to 4th ranked Chinese Wang Shixian in straight sets 8–21, 14–21. She although equalled her tournament best performance, as she was also a losing quarter-finalist in the last edition held in Hyderabad. She subsequently dropped a spot to be No. 3 in the world rankings.

Top seed Saina, won the gold medal in the Women's Singles badminton event in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi. She beat Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia 19–21 23–21 21–13. After her win Saina said, "when I was a match-point down, it was like a shock. It was a big match and winning it means a lot to me. Even many years from now, those present here will always remember how Saina won the gold. It is a proud feeling". In the BWF Super Series ranking for the year 2010 (which only considers the performances of players in the elite world super series tournaments), as on 27 September 2010, Saina has dropped to No. 7 from a high of No. 1 after giving a miss to 2010 China Masters Super Series and 2010 Japan Super Series due to her preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As on 5 Dec 2010, for the first time in the year Saina Nehwal dropped out of the top 10 best performers in the 2010 BWF Super Series rankings.

Saina Nehwal confirmed her participation for the 2010 Hong Kong Super series to held from 7 to 12 Dec 2010 and is also the penultimate super series tournament of the year. This would be Saina's first super series tournament after a gap of more than 5 months since her win in the 2010 Indonesia Super Series in June 2010. On 12 December 2010, Saina Nehwal defeated Wang Shixian 15–21, 21–16, 21–17 in the final of the 2010 Hong Kong Super Series to win her fourth career Super Series title.

2011: Fourth-seed Saina Nehwal crashed out of the 2011 Korea Open Super Series Premier on 27 January 2011 in the second round. She was defeated by the Japanese Sayaka Sato in a tight three-set match with score 17–21, 21–19 and 21–11. Fifth-seed Saina was disappointed when she was defeated by Eriko Hirose of Japan at 2011 All England Super Series Premier on 11 March 2011. She was defeated in straight sets with a score of 21–11 and 22–20. It was her second early exit of the year after being defeated in Korean Premium Super Series earlier in January. One week later, on 17 March 2011, she met Eriko Hirose again (in the second round of the Wilson Badminton Swiss Open), but managed to win this time in three games 21–15, 17–21 and 21–11 – on her birthday. 2nd seed Saina Nehwal beat Ji Hyun Sung of South Korea 21–13, 21–14 to win the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton title on 20 March 2011. Saina posed an early exit from the Indian Open Super Series in Delhi. She disappointed the home crowd being defeated by Ai Goto of Japan in straight games, 21–17 and 21–19.

Saina Nehwal faltered after a good start as she lost to the then world number three Wang Xin of China in the finals to finish runner-up in the 2011 Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold tournament on 8 May 2011. Saina Nehwal participated in the 2011 BWF Double Star Sudirman Cup Mixed team event, she won her first match against Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei which was a tough three setter 21–10, 12–21 21–17, but India lost the tie 3–2. She was then shocked in her second match by current Junior World Champion and 16-year-old teen sensation Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand losing in straight sets 21–14, 22–20, but India managed to beat Thailand 3–2 in the tie to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the Elite mixed team event for the first time in the history of the tournament. In the quarterfinals against the mighty Chinese, Saina put up her best performance and beat the then World number two Xin Wang in straight sets 21–15, 21–11, but still the Chinese managed to move into the semi finals with a 3–1 win over India. Saina lost to Li Xuerui of China in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open GP Gold.

Defending Champion Saina lost to Cheng Shao-chieh of Chinese Taipei in the second round of Singapore Open Super Series. Saina, in her attempt to record a third straight win at the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier, reached the finals where she lost to Wang Yihan of China to finish as runner-up, on 26 June. Nehwal crashed out of World Championship 2011 as she lost 15–21, 10–21 to World Number 3 Wang Xin of China in a lop-sided women's singles match. Saina, who reached the quarterfinals in the last two editions of the event, had to be content with yet another last-eight finish. She lost in the quarter finals of 2011 China Masters Super Series against World No. 1 Wang Yihan of China in straight games, 8–21, 12–21. Saina lost in the semi finals of 2011 Japan Super Series against Juliane Schenk of Germany in straight games 19–21, 10–21. In the 2011 Denmark Super Series Premier, she lost to 17-year-old teen Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in straight games 19–21, 13–21 in the second round. Saina repeated her second-round exit in the 2011 French Super Series as she lost to World No. 16 Li Xuerui of China in straight games 18–21, 29–30. Saina lost in quarter finals of 2011 Hong Kong Super Series against World No. 7 Tine Baun of Denmark in straight games 16–21, 15–21.

Saina was defeated in the first round of 2011 China Open Super Series Premier by World No. 8 Bae Youn-joo of South Korea 21–15, 22–24, 15–21. During the season ending tournament in December, Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indian singles player to reach the final of BWF Super Series Masters Finals after defeating World No. 5 Tine Baun of Denmark to cruise 21–17, 21–18 in the semifinals of the 2011 BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Liuzhou (China). She went on to lose the final 21–18, 13–21, 13–21 against the World No. 1 Chinese Wang Yihan in a contest lasting over an hour.[36]

2012–2013: Saina successfully did her Swiss Open Title by defeating World No 2 Wang Shixian of China 21–19 21–16 on 18 March 2012, a day after she turned 22 years old. On 10 June 2012, Saina defeated Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon 19–21 21–15 21–10, to lift the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold title.

On 17 June 2012, Saina Nehwal won the Indonesia Open Super Series by defeating World No. 3 Li Xuerui of China 13–21, 22–20 21–19.[39][40] It was her 3rd Indonesia Open title. On 4 August 2012, she won the bronze medal at the London Olympics when China's Wang Xin retired from the match after an injury with the match at 18–21, 0–1.[42][not in citation given] On 21 October 2012, she won the Denmark Open Super Series Premier after defeating Wang Yihan 21–12 12–7 in the semifinal. Yihan got retired hurt in this match after losing first set and trailing in second set. In the final Saina defeated Juliane Schenk of Germany in two straight sets to lift her first Denmark open trophy.

2014: On 26 January 2014 Saina defeated World Championship bronze medalist P.V. Sindhu 21–14, 21–17 to win the Women's Singles of India Open Grand Prix Gold Tournament. On March,2014 World No. 4 Saina Nehwal, who had a win-loss record of 4–2 against the Chinese ace Wang Shixian, crashed out of the 2014 All England Super Series Premier after losing her quarter-final match. Saina took revenge of All England loss by defeating Wang Shixian in semifinals of 2014 Australian Super Series. In final on June 29, 2014 Saina defeated Spain's Carolina Marin 21–18, 21–11 to win Women's Singles of 2014 Australian Super Series. The win helped her to reach the ranking of World no. 7, climbing two spots.

She became the 1st Indian woman to win the China Open Super Series Premier by beating Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21–12, 22–20 in the final. 2015

Defending Champion Saina Nehwal won the 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold by defeating Spain's Carolina Marin in the Final. She became the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the finals of All England Open Badminton Championships, but lost to Carolina in the final. On 29 March 2015, Saina won her maiden women's singles title at the India Open BWF Super Series beating Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand. This assured her of becoming World number 1 when the latest BWF rankings were released on April 2. Thus, she became the first Indian women's player to be World No.1 in badminton.[48] On 16th Aug 2015, Saina went down fighting to Carolina Marin again, in the Final of World Badminton Championships held in Jakarta, settling for the Silver. defending champion Saina Nehwal fought hard before going down to Li Xuerei in the final of china open

2016: Saina dealt with injuries in the starting of 2016 but she eventually recovered. The defending champion lost to the reigning Olympic Champion Li Xuerui in a hard fought match at the India Open in the semifinals. She registered semifinal finishes at the India Open and Malaysia Open. She reached the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Championships after defeating the third seed Wang Shixian (21–16 21–19) in the quarterfinals, but lost to Wang Yihan in the semifinals. She settled for bronze, her second in the Asian Championships after 2010. In June 2016, she competed at the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier, she reached the quarterfinals where she lost to the top seed Carolina Marin with the score of 22–24, 11–21.

At the Australian Super Series, after registering victories in straight games against unseeded players, Saina reached to the quarterfinals, where she won a hard-fought match against the second seed Ratchanok Intanon by 28–26, 21–16.[50] After registering victory in the semifinals against the world no. 2 Wang Yihan by 21–8, 21–12, she won her first title of the year after defeating China's Sun Yu in the final by 11–21, 21–14, 21–19.

Making her third appearance at the Olympics, Nehwal, the fifth seed, won her opening match against the unseeded Lohaynny Vicente in straight games.[53] However, she lost her second match against the world no. 61 Marija Ulitina by 18–21, 19–21, thereby making exit at the group stage. Her coach cited the week-old knee injury for her below par performance at the event.

2017: Saina entered 2017 with maiden Malaysia open Grand Prix Gold title. She went on to reach the quarterfinals of the All England Championships 2018 and couldn't do well much of the year due to injury and she was still recovering. In August she was seeded 12th in World Badminton Championships at Glasgow. Nehwal again dug deep into her reservoir to eke out a 21-19 18-21 21-15 win over world No. 31 Kristy Gilmour of Scotland in the quarterfinal. However she lost in the semifinal in tight 3 setter to eventual winner Nozomi Okhuhara of Japan thus bagging bronze medal. This is Saina's second consecutive medal at World Badminton Championship and a record breaking 7th consecutive quarterfinal.[55][56] She then won the 82nd national badminton championship by beating P. V. Sindhu in the final.

2018: She had a good start to the year reaching finals of Indonesia Masters 2018 Enroute to the finals she beat Chen Yufei,Chen Xioxin (both of China) , P.V. Sindhu in the Quarterfinal and Ratchanok Intanon in the Semis. She won her second gold in Commonwealth Games women's singles after beating P V Sindhu in the final and eventually led Indian team to another gold medal in mixed team event

Saina Nehwal wins Indonesian Open

Ace woman shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday, 21 June 2009, 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.

Her triumph is the best ever performance by any Indian woman and at par with All England Championship titles won by Prakash Padukone and her current coach Pullela Gopichand.

In the thrilling final, world number eight Saina came from behind to outsmart world number three Wang and avenge her last week's Singapore Open Super Series loss to the same rival.

Saina took time to get into the groove as she struggled to gauge the gameplan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a 4-9 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play o 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 berserk 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.

Hailing Saina's victory as an important milestone in Indian badminton, Badminton Association of India announced a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh as a recognition of her feat.

"It is a big moment in Indian badminton. We are proud of her achievement. We are announcing a cash reward of Rs two lakhs as an acknowledgment of Saina's hard work and achievement," BAI president V K Verma said.

"It is a moment to cherish for Indian sports. Saina has put up a lot of hard work but I will also want to thank the Sports Ministry for their support and financial help," he added.

Saina Nehwal wins Singapore Open

20 जून 2010 : भारत की सर्वश्रेष्ठ बैडमिंटन खिलाड़ी सायना नेहवाल ने सिंगापुर ओपन सुपर सीरीज का खिताब अपने नाम कर लिया है। रविवार को खेले गए फाइनल मुकाबले में सायना ने चीनी ताइपे की जू यिंग तेई को 21-18, 21-15 से मात दी।

महिला सिंगल्स के इस मुकाबले में यिंग तेई शुरू में सायना को चुनौती दी और एक समय दोनों खिलाड़ी 18-18 की बराबरी पर थीं। लेकिन इसके बाद सायना यिंग तेई के ऊपर हावी हो गईं और पहला गेम 21-18 से जीतने के बाद सायना ने दूसरा गेम 21-15 से जीतकर खिताब पर कब्जा कर लिया। सायना ने महज 33 मिनट में यह मुकाबला जीत लिया। इस टूर्नामेंट में सायना को पहली वरीयता दी गई थी।

इससे पहले सेमीफाइनल में सायना ने लैन ल्यू को संघर्षपूर्ण मुकाबले में 8-21, 21-17, 21-8 से मात दी थी। दुनिया की छठे नंबर की सायना इससे पहले पिछले साल इंडोनेशिया सुपर सीरीज का खिताब भी अपने नाम कर चुकी है। यह सायना का दूसरा सुपर सीरीज खिताब है। इंडोनेशिया खिताब भी सायना ने जून के महीने में ही जीता था। सायना शानदार फॉर्म में चल रही हैं पिछले सप्ताह ही सायना ने इंडियन ओपन ग्रांप्री गोल्ड का खिताब जीता था।

Arjun Award 2009

Saina Nehwal recieving Arjuna Award from President

20 year old Saina has received Arjun Award for Badminton for 2009 from President Smt. Pratibha Patil at Rastrapati Bhawan,New Delhi on Aug.29,2009. She is ranked among top 5 on 18th march 2009.

वर्ष 2008-09 के लिए पीएसपीबी वार्षिक पुरस्कार समारोह में 22 अक्टूबर को सायना नेहवाल सर्वश्रेष्ठ खिलाड़ी के तौर पर चुनी गई। नई दिल्ली में आयोजित इस कार्यक्रम में सायना के साथ-साथ चर्चित जाट क्रिकेटर वीरेन्द्र सेहवाग भी उपस्थित थे। वीरेन्द्र सेहवाग को 2007-08 के लिए इस पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया गया।

Saina Nehwal wins three badminton titles in three weeks

Jakarta, June 27 (IANS) Indian star Saina Nehwal Sunday won the Indonesian Open Super Series for her third straight badminton title in three weeks, defeating a fighting Sayaka Sato of Japan. The win is expected to lift her to World No.2 in rankings.

As her parents watched her play on television at their home in Hyderabad, top seeded Saina overcame Sato 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the final play here.

Saina was a strong favourite to defend her title after winning the Indian Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series, in the last two weeks that saw her climb two places in the rankings this week, marching ahead of the three top Chinese players.

The 20-year-old Indian, with many records to her name, is expected to go up one more place in the world rankings after her stupendous run. The No.1 badminton player in the world is Wang Yihan of China.

‘This is one of my most memorable victories,’ a jubilant Saina said. ‘Today’s victory has given me more confidence. My next aim is the World Championship.’

In Hyderabad, Saina’s father Harvir Singh shed tears of joy as he saw his daughter walk up to the victory podium. ‘It is a wonderful feeling, and we are very proud of her,’ he said, covering his tear-filled eyes.

‘We are very proud of her. Her victory proves that women are doing well in sports in India,’ he added.

Saina’s mother Usha was deluged with congratulatory phone calls from friends and relatives. ‘Sato was pretty fast but Saina maintained a rhythm and played good strokes. We will give her a grand welcome.’

Coach P. Gopichand told IANS: ‘Winning three tournaments is really amazing.’

Although the top Chinese players did not take part in the tournament, it is still a huge achievement for Saina, considering she now has three Super Series titles.

It began here one year ago, when she first won the Indonesian Open. On Sunday, she used all her experience to get past giant-killer Sato, who gave a strong fight to the Indian.

The packed crowd had a sprinkling of Indians waving the Indian tricolour.

Sato, ranked 26 in the world, had defeated two seeded players, including third seed Zhou Mi of Hong Kong.

The resilient Japanese, who in 2008 lost to Saina in the final of the World Junior Badminton championship in Pune, bounced back from a game down with some crisp drop shots.

Saina, coached by former All England Champion Gopichand, made a confident start and quickly opened up a 8-4 lead. But Sato caught her up at 11-11 exhibiting brilliant backhand shots.

The Japanese also took advantage of Saina’s errors.

It was a neck-and-neck battle from thereon, with both players competing fiercely for every point.

Sato took the lead at 17-16, but Saina surged ahead pocketing three points before finishing off the game.

The left-handed Sato dictated the course of play in the second game, putting Saina under pressure. With a supple wrist, the Japanese set up the points beautifully even as Saina tried hard to comeback.

Sato took a 6-2 lead and consolidated on it to put it beyond the Indian, who preserved her energy for the decider.

Saina came back strongly in the second game. It was her net play that got the better of the Japanese, who struggled to read Saina’s game.

Once Saina went up 8-5, Sato went down with a string of errors.

Saina served for the match as a hush descended on the stadium. But soon it exploded into cheers and applause as Saina screamed after Sato shut out her chances with a wild shot.

Reference - http://calcuttatube.com/super-saina-wins-three-badminton-titles-in-three-weeks-2/101971/

Saina Nehwal not worried about ranking

Jun 30, 2010. Interview in Times of India

After notching up a hat-trick of international titles, Saina Nehwal is in no hurry to become the numero uno badminton player in the world and now wants to do well in forthcoming World Championships and Commonwealth Games in October.

"This year there is the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and also the Asian Games. So I will be working towards that. I did not expect to reach number three ranking, but have reached there and I am quite confident I can also reach number one position. But before that, it is important for me to play well in the World Championships and the Delhi Commonwealth Games," Saina said.

Saina, who pocketed the hat-trick of titles by defending the Indonesian Open Super Series trophy in Jakarta recently, also made it clear that she had never set deadlines for improvement in the world ranking.

"I did not keep a target to reach number three. I thought by this year end I may be at number four or five, but I have reached number three so fast. So, I can be number one or may go down also because I am not playing so many tournaments," she pointed out.

The 20-year-old, however, feels that there is enough space for further improvement.

"A player is never perfect. You have to work hard to keep on improving every time. I have to improve my defence, net, backhands and forehands. I should work on the areas where I am weak," she said.

"The coaches are finding something special. They will try to improve and tell me to learn something new. Right now, I am not thinking of what to do. The plan is to start (practice) from the next week.

"May be, they will tell me to improve my defence, which is a weak area. I am a good attacking player," she added.

Before winning in Jakarta, which was her third Super Series title overall, Saina had won the India Open Grand Prix at home and the Singapore Open Super Series tournament.

Saina stated that she does not believe in having foreign coaches and said, "I don't believe in all that. It is more self-belief. You have to believe in yourself."

Saina feels it was her hard-earned stamina which kept her going in the three back-to-back tournaments.

"It was important that I improve my stamina because 15 days are lot and you have to play one match every day. The key was to improve the stamina and also the strokes," she said.

"Indonesian Open was special because I was quite tired by then. It is special because I won it for the second time," she added.

However, she refused to buy the theory that absence of top Chinese players made her tasks easier in Jakarta.

"No, because all the upcoming players are playing really well and all of them gave tough fight. All of us were playing really well. Not only Chinese, all the international players are playing exceedingly well," Saina said.

"Expectations are always high. For me, it is important that I stay focused and work hard. What I am getting it is all because of my game. I have to keep that in mind and keep working every day," she added.

Saina also reminded the budding shuttlers that there was no shortcut to success.

"I just want to tell them to work hard and believe in yourself. All the players are playing well, I just want to wish them all the best and stay focused."

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratn Award

Saina Nehwal Receiving Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has been selected for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country's sporting honour, for her outstanding achievements on the badminton court. National sports awards (Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dhyan Chand) selection committee headed by P T Usha met on Friday and decided to bestow the Khel Ratna on Saina after considering her brilliant performance in the last one year. The World number two Indian has been in red-hot form in the last one year, where she reached the semifinals of the All England Super Series in March before winning three successive titles in June.

Gold Medal Commonwealth Games 2010 at Delhi

It wasn't as dramatic as Aamir Khan's last second dash to win the cycle race and overall crown in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, but the script of the XIX Commonwealth Games' concluding tussle had enough edge of the seat action. When home favourite Saina Nehwal took on Malaysia's Wong Mew Choo in the women's badminton singles final, it was not just the gold medal at stake. India's chances to finish second ahead of England also depended on the outcome of this encounter. With England not winning a single gold on the final day, Saina had to win her match to put India ahead. With a packed Siri Fort sports complex egging her on, a nervous Saina was almost on life support when Mew Choo earned her first match point at 21-20 in the second game. But the Indian kept her cool to draw level with a net kill and then staged a comeback to win 19-21, 23-21, 21-13 in one hour and 10 minutes.

“We were hoping that if we could win two gold, we could be on top. After Jwala and Ashwini won their final, it was my turn and I am very proud that I could bring India to the second spot," said Saina, the first Indian woman to win a singles gold.

However, all that looked improbable for the first 45 minutes when the world No. 3 was looking to hit everything coming her way for a winner and Mew Choo frustrating her with a solid defensive strategy.

“I was very nervous and so I was hitting everything,”

she added after beating Mew Choo for the fifth time in a row this year.

Saina only managed to get her act together by the end of the first game and the strategy worked for the first half of the second game. But with a lot at stake, the 20-year-old Saina again started making mistakes and that allowed the Malaysian an opportunity to earn her first match-point.

“At that point, I told myself that I had nothing to lose, " said Saina, about the winner that brought her into the match.

The decider was a cakewalk with Saina’s superior fitness making the difference.

Listen NDTV Video about Saina

साइना के गोल्ड मेडल जीतने पर जताई खुशी

मुरादनगर, संस : राष्ट्रमंडल खेलों में महिला सिंगल बैडमिंटन खेल में साइना नेहवाल के गोल्ड मेडल जीतने पर उनके पैतृक गांव ढिंडार में जश्न का माहौल है। खुशी में जगह-जगह मिठाई बांटी गई तथा गांव के युवाओं ने आतिशबाजी छोड़कर अपनी खुशी का इजहार किया है।

मुरादनगर क्षेत्र के ढिंडार गांव निवासी हरबीर सिंह कृषि वैज्ञानिक के पद पर कार्यरत हैं। उनकी तैनाती हैदराबाद में है। ढिंडार निवासी हरबीर सिंह की पुत्री साइना नेहवाल ने बृहस्पतिवार को राष्ट्रमंडल खेलों के दौरान बैडमिंटन में महिला सिंगल में मलयेशिया की खिलाड़ी को हराकर भारत को गोल्ड मेडल दिला दिया।

गांव ढिंडार निवासी एवं भाजपा के पूर्व जिला अध्यक्ष आशु वर्मा ने कहा कि साइना नेहवाल ने गोल्ड मेडल जीतकर ढिंडार गांव का नाम पूरे देश में रोशन किया है। पूर्व प्रधान रामकुमारी रोहटो व राजबीर सिंह ने कहा है कि साइना नेहवाल की जीत के साथ सभी ग्रामीण को गौरवंतित महसूस कर रहे हैं।

Saina Nehwal wins Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold title

Saina Nehwal added another title to add to her crowded trophy case with a perfectly-timed final victory in the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Bangkok on Sunday 10 June 2012. She beat Thailand's rising star and world No.11 Inthanon Ratchanok 19-21, 21-15, 21-10 to win her.

Saina Nehwal awarded with Padma Bhushan-2016

Government has announced the list of Padma Awards 2016. Distinguished personalities from the field of public service, sports and entertainment will be awarded the Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awards. Sportsperson Saina Nehwal is one among the Padma Bhushan awardees of 2016.

Jubilant after receiving the Padma Bhushan from President Pranab Mukherjee, Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has admitted that the prestigious award will encourage her to perform even better so that she can make the country proud in the coming future. The 26-year-old Hyderabadi insisted that she would continue to work hard and that she will strive to achieve good results.

References

• Video of Saina Nehwal's Victory
• http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4683438.cms
• http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jun/210609-Badminton-Saina-Nehwal-Indonesian-Super-Series-Final.htm

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