Saina Nehwal becomes the most successful shuttler in the history of Indian badminton
India has produced many dynamic players in the field of badminton including Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand, Aparna Popat, Anup Sridhar, Chetan Anand, Jwala Gutta and the astonishing Saina Nehwal.
Among all these shuttlers, Saina became the most successful Indian in the entire badminton history of the country. She also enjoys the honour of being the first Indian shuttler in the category of Women’s Singles who reached the quarter-final stage of the
Olympic Games.
The 21-year-old Saina Nehwal has captured the World Number four spot in the rankings of Badminton World Federation in the Women’s Singles category. She made her appearance felt as a junior player in 2003 when she won the first international event, the Czechoslovakia
Junior Open. In 2004, she finished as runner up in the Commonwealth Youth Games.
The following year, she remained successful as the Indian grabbed the title of the 2005 Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament. In 2006, she was the first badminton player in the Women’s Singles category to win the four star tournament of the Philippines Open.
In the same year, Saina clinched the Asian Satellite Badminton event for the second time.
Saina booked two home events in 2007 in the form of Indian National Badminton Championships and National Games of India. 2008 brought huge success for this Indian wonder, as Saina surprised everyone when she emerged as winner in the 2008 Chinese Taipei Open
Grand Prix Gold. She proved her superiority in India by winning Indian National Badminton Championships for the second consecutive time.
She continued her impressive run in the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games and won the gold medal. Saina again achieved an important mile-stone in the international arena by grabbing the 2008 BWF World Junior Championships. She is considered one of the smartest
players in the arena of badminton who possesses remarkable technical and tactical skills of the game.
In 2009, the Indian shuttler put the world behind when she claimed her first Super Series crown, the Indonesia Open Super Series. The same year also brought one more title for this dedicated player in the form of 2009 Indian Open Grand Prix. Nehwal remained
the dominant force in the world of badminton in 2010, as she won five titles. She showed that she is the best in the business by winning the 2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold.
Saina won her second Super Series title in Singapore where she destroyed the top players of the world and brought home the title of 2010 Singapore Open Super Series. She put on an impressive show in the 2010 Indonesia Open Super Series where she defended
her title in a highly authoritative way. During the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Saina raised the Indian flag by clinching the gold medal. The 2010 Hong Kong Super Series was the last title won by Saina.
Since 2008, Saina is getting her training from Indonesian coach, Atik Jauhari and also under the supervision of Pullela Gopichand, the former champion of All England Open 2001. She is working hard on all aspects of the game including physical and mental
tactics. On the court she always remains focused on the game and plays with a definite strategy. Saina is ready now to take bigger challenges of mega events like, World Championships and Olympic Games. Her commitment and dedication towards her profession is
highly appreciated not merely in India but also around the world.
Tags: