Essays

The first Indian girl to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics and the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships—Saina Nehwal is not only a sports sensation but has become an icon today. On July 15, 2010 Saina rose to world number 2 by Badminton World Federation, after she vault past China's Wang Xin. The meteoric rise of this Indian badminton player is often cited as the best in Indian female badminton history.

Saina Nehwal was born on March 17, 1990 in Hisar, Haryana. Her parents moved to Hyderabad while she was just five and Hyderabad has been her home since then. Her foray into the world of badminton was influenced by her father Dr. Harvir Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad and her mother Usha Nehwal, As both her parents are former badminton champions in Haryana, it was easy for Saina to receive the support of her family members. Saina started playing badminton at a tender age of 8 under the careful eyes of her coach Nani Prasad. Her tough training schedule started her badminton training under the apt guidance of S M Arif, a Dronacharya Awardee. Later, Pullela Gopichand's Academy of Badminton in Hyderabad became the training ground of Saina Nehwal where she developed her game and the former All England champion and national coach Pullela Gopichand has been her mentor since then. Under Gopichand's guidance, Saina not only polished her skills but also developed her temperament for badminton, which sustains even today. "I'm not bothered about rankings, I just want to concentrate on a few tournaments and be at my best, physically and mentally," The approach has worked wonders and has escalated her to World No.2; and she is now poised to become the only Indian after Prakash Padukone to become world No.1.

The Junior Czech Open, which took place in the year 2003, was a major break in the career of Saina as she went on to win the tournament. In the Commonwealth Games of 2006, Saina won Bronze but came back with a vengeance and grabbed gold in the 2010 Commonwealth.

Currently, coached by Indonesian badminton legend Atik Jauhari, since August 2008, Saina has been busy crushing her opponents. She is the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament and made India Proud by clinching the Indonesia Open Super Series with a stunning victory over higher-ranked Chinese Un Wang in Jakarta. This series is also called Grand Slam of Badminton. Saina won her second career Super Series title by winning the Singapore Open title on June 20, 2010 and completed a hat - trick in the same year. In 2010, she also won the Indian Open Grand Prix Gold 2010 defeating Mew Choo Wong from Malaysia, Again in 2010. Saina led the Indian Women's Team to semifinals of the Uber Cup. In the same year, she also became the original Indian woman to reach the semi-final stage of the All-England Super Series, The 2010 Hong Kong Super Series and the 2011 Malaysia Open Grand Prix are other commendable feats in Saina's career that has affarmed her as a world-class player.

On the back of her three successive titles - the India Open, Singapore Open and Indonesia Open, Saina has been eyeing the glory of the World Championships.

Since her initial years in the courts, Saina has been considered as full of potential. She has made a mark of her own through her brilliant performance and series of successes in national and international tournaments. With years of determination, conviction and willpower, Saina Nehwal is now ruling courts and the hearts of young and old alike.