Badminton Queen of India Saina Nehwal

by Saran, Renu

  Saina was growing and her ambition grew with her. She was in class 10th now. This is a crucial stage for every student’s life. In India, a child’s future is predicted by the numbers he or she scores in the board examinations. The pressure is killing. But for Saina, it was like any other examination that entered in her life with each new class she attended. This time around, Saina was away for an international tournament, ‘The Junior German’. She also participated in ‘The Dutch Open’.

  She returned to India just twenty five days before the board examinations were scheduled! Of course, there was no time for her to study. But it was her duty to attend the exams and before she did, the cramming session started. In fact, she crammed the entire year’s portions within those twenty five days! Poor girl!

  One of the worst moments during tenth standard exams were her cramming sessions during social studies paper. It was really tough and she couldn’t do it all on her own. So Dr. Harvir Singh and Usha Nehwal supported her. They helped her understand the lessons. The paper was more than a nightmare. Since, Dr. Harvir Singh knew the condition of his daughter, he accompanied her to the school and waited until Saina finished the paper.

  Finally, the girl came out of the examination hall. Dr. Singh couldn’t wait to know how his daughter fared in the exams. He asked Saina to narrate the answers she wrote for the paper. But Dr. Harvir Singh was shocked. He told Saina that she will fail.

  The entire family waited for the results. This was a difficult moment for everyone. But all’s well that ends well. Finally, the results were out and Saina passed her exams with an aggregate of 65 percent. And Dr. Harvir Singh was surprised to know that his daughter scored 75 percent in social studies, highest in any subject!

  The 10th standard results were a huge relief for Saina. She was happy to overcome all hurdles and pass the examination with a decent score.

  Saina was 15 years old now, crucial period in any individual’s life! This is the time when one decides about future and career options. Saina had no confusion in her mind. The goal was crystal clear. She wanted to become a professional badminton player. Her motive was to make her country proud.

  In 2003, Saina played eighteen tournaments at national level:

  • Under-16 Singles and doubles

  • Under-19 Singles and doubles

  • Czech Junior Open

  Saina won 16 tournaments and was the runner up for two of the tournaments.

  Finally, Saina disclosed her secret ambition to Dr. Harvir Singh who wasn’t really convinced with the idea. Of course, he was confident about Saina’s spirits, skills and willpower. But he wasn’t really convinced about the scope for an immensely talented player like Saina in India. She was consistently beating op players and winning tournaments. Moreover, Dr. Harvir Singh wasn’t sure of the better choice – a doctor or badminton player.

  Soon Saina enrolled into class 11th at St. Ann’s School. Her subjects were – Chemistry, Civics, and Economics. But the girl faced many troubles attending school during this phase of her life. Her practice sessions got more rigorous and stringent. She had to devote a lot of time and energy to be able to cope with studies.

  By the time, she passed her 11th standard exams, Dr. Harvir Singh was convinced that his daughter will play badminton professionally. This way, badminton was etched into Saina’s future.

  In 2004, Saina started playing at international level. The busy schedule left her with very little time to play in India. However, as an ardent player, she managed to play the Under-19 Junior Championships and walked away with victories in the singles and doubles titles.

  One of the major achievements in Saina’s life arrived in the year 2005. She equalled ace badminton player Prakash Padukone’s record in the following tournaments:

  • Under-16

  • Under-19

  • Senior Nationals

  • India International Satellite

  In the year 2006, Saina travelled all the way to the Philippine Open. This was the tournament that began with a gold for her. Unfortunately, the dates of the tournament coincided with that of her exams. Saina chose to participate in the tournament. This was a big decision for a school going girl but not for a badminton lover.

  The media headlines highlighted the news saying ‘Saina skips exams to win a tournament’. The entire nation was proud of her. After all the ‘four star tournament’ was won for the first time in India. This was one of the Gold Grand Prix events. The team didn’t win but Saina won gold. The event inspired her a lot and boosted her confidence levels.

  The school was cooperative too. It allowed Saina to skip exams and encouraged her to play for the country. They knew she would make the whole country proud one day. This was a proud moment for Saina too.

  The year 2008 arrived with an opportunity to participate in the Under-19 World Junior Badminton Championships. The championship was organized by the Badminton World Federation. Saina really worked hard to win it.

  The same year, Saina was invited to school as chief guest for the Sports Day. This was an emotional moment for the budding badminton star. The moment she took her place on the podium, the dean addressed her as ‘madam’. This was unbelievable! The shock was enough to make this teenager fall off the chair. This was also the moment Saina understood what she has achieved in life.

  The rigorous training schedule and regular touring for tournaments within India and abroad had left very little time for Saina to concentrate on studies. She gave up studies after giving exams for 11th standard.

  Saina’s Journey to the Top

  So, how did Saina made it to the top? Did she face many troubles? Well, to reach to a certain height in any field, one must face struggles and overcome them. In case of badminton, the game needs to be played step by step. There are no shortcuts in the dictionary of badminton. So, Saina moved ahead slow and steady. She had her goals set. First, district level, then state level, national level and then international level.

  At the age of twelve, Saina participated in the team event of Commonwealth Games. Aparna Popat, the best women’s player in India was the main player in the event. All eyes were on her. Saina was a mere junior player. Hence, her duty was to spend time on the bench. The badminton lover was not quite happy to spend time in idleness. She wanted to rush to the court and test her skills.

  However, the experience proved to be a significant for budding player, Saina. She could see the how experienced players acted in the court, their strategies etc. Her major focus was Aparna. She learnt a lot from her. This was also the moment when Saina yearned to be a part of international circuit.

  By the grace of God, Saina got this opportunity in the year 2003. Saina was selected for Czechoslovakia Junior Open in Prague. It was an Under-19 tournament. She was 13 years old and an unranked player then. Saina played 5 rounds before reaching finals and won gold. But her performance was appreciated. It was her first international tournament and she managed to beat players ranked between World Numbers 60 and 20 (senior category). Saina always believed in trying and winning. Rank is just a number. Badminton is all about trying hard and learning from past experiences.

  “Every player who makes it past qualifying matches has a chance to win.”

  – Saina Nehwal

  The tournament was an inspiring experience for Saina. It filled her with immense confidence. She knew what it takes to play an international tournament. After the game, there was a celebration. Anand Pawar, one of Saina’s team-mates had won the boy’s championship. Both players organized a dinner treat for the rest of team members and enjoyed. That night, Saina had chocolates to her heart’s fill.

  By the age of 15, Saina started playing in the Seniors Nationals. The year was 2005 and lost it to Aparna Popat. Thereafter, she played for the Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament and won.

  When it comes to enjoying top position in badminton, the kind of tournaments played by a player also matters. In Saina’s case, although she had started playing internationally, there was more to do on her part.
It was time for her to focus on ‘big’ tournaments. This time, this young girl was eyeing at Uber Cup 2006 tournament. It was to be held in Jaipur.

  The tournament started and Saina won every game she played. However, the team lost and couldn’t reach finals. She couldn’t do much. The loss was big but it couldn’t dampen the spirits of a young girl.

  Despite the loss, Saina was determined to focus on the next big tournament. Her eyes were set on the Commonwealth Games 2006. She actually hoped to play in the tournament. So, Saina prepared herself for the game.

  Aparna Popat was the main player in the tournament. Saina acted as a standby. Aparna being the senior-most player was assigned in every game. She got injured in one of the games. When the experts conformed that Aparna cannot play, Saina decided to contribute to the team. She informed her team coach Vimal Kumar about her willingness to play.

  Although, Vimal Kumar knew Saina was a novice in the international arena, he gave her the green signal. This was Saina’s first ever ‘big’ match in the international arena. The tournament was difficult but Saina managed to reach the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, Xing Aiying (Singapore) won the match.

  The team lost the tournament but it still earned a lot of popularity by winning a bronze. This was also the game where Saina got noticed as an international badminton player. Saina’s confidence was boosted to a great extent.

  Saina followed this success with the Phillippine Open tournament. It was a big tournament indeed and Saina won gold. This was the big moment in the young player’s life but no one was present from India to commemorate the event other than her coach Bhaskar Babu. None of the players made it past the preliminary rounds. They had left for Indonesia, Jakarta to participate in Djarum Indonesia Open, another tournament. Saina celebrated her victory all alone in her room.

  Saina won over Malaysian player Julia Wang. The World Number 66 player was beaten in straight sets. What’s more? The promising Indian player also won 9,000 USD. Unfortunately, Saina had little time to enjoy the money and nobody to join. Saina had to join the Indonesia team soon.

  Joining the Indonesian team was a difficult phase in this dedicated player’s life. She couldn’t get through with her tickets. Hence, they were to be cancelled and book again. So, she decided to make her way to Manila. From there, she headed towards Jakarta and then finally made it to Malaysia. The tour was exhausting and extremely stressful. The tour matters are handled by a team manager. However, this time Saina has to take care of everything.

  The exhausting long trip left with her no time to rest. This was also the reason she lost in the first round. The Indonesia Open started by stress and fatigue didn’t allow the player to have an upper hand on opponents. Saina wasn’t worried about this loss as she knew she had it her. And as a player, she knew victories and defeats were part of being in the court. But there was someone who had to do much about winning and losing tournaments more than Saina! It was the media – the same media that declared Saina as the rising sun of Indian badminton. Today, it didn’t take time to dash her down to the ground. The media had a lot to say about her defeat, the long tour, and mistakes she made.

  The incident taught Saina many lessons. She knew that every move she made was observed by the media. The badminton player was now supposed to focus on what she says, wears, thinks, and opinionated.

  After sometime, Saina had to participate in the Junior World Cup. The tournament was held at Seoul, Korea. Saina played well and made it to the finals. However, towards the end, she lost it to Wang Yihan. By this time, Saina’s career was at par with the top ranked badminton player in India, Aparna.

  The journey ahead had many more challenges. In 2007, Saina participated in the Malaysia Open. The start was smooth and she managed to reach the quarter-finals. She flew straight to Patna from Kuala Lumpur. Here, she participated in the Senior National Championships.

  In the month of March, Saina was supposed to play for a ‘big ticket’ game. It was the All England Tournament. But as a player, Saina lost it to the second round. The loss was disheartening to the young girl who was dreaming of making it big in the badminton arena.

  Saina came back to India where the All India National Games was waiting for her. She won gold. Her victory was recorded both in individual and team events. However, she longed to carve a niche in the international arena. It was not that she didn’t get any chance to pay. In fact, in 2007 she got many chances to play for internationally. She went to Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Denmark, Korea, China, Macau, France, Chinese Taipei and many more. However, none of the tournaments saw her surviving past first or second round. The year was quite tragic for Saina as a player.

  There was a lot of pressure on her from the media, country, mentors, and the team to carry forward previous victory records. But the more she tried, more difficult it seemed for her to win. Her record breaking lows were making it hard for her to move ahead.

  The record breaking defeat of Saina was enjoyed by the media. It got some news to feed the readers. It tagged her previous victories as a fluke. The leading newspaper of India that appreciated her achievements and filled pages about her success was busy making news out of her defeat.

  At this point of time, Saina’s family stood by her. The year 2007 was slump for Saina. She had to go through a lot. Luckily, she got some support from the Mittal Champions Trust. She was signed on by the Champions Trust of Lakshmi Mittal, London-based steel baron that wanted to help her become an international champion.

  Finally, the year ended and Saina knew that the next year is going to be significant for her career. The Olympics in Beijing was supposed to be a big event. She was ranked at number 23.

  Saina qualified for the Olympics. It was a great moment for her. There were three rounds which she had to qualify. She beat Gryga Larysa from Ukraine, Ella Karachkova from Russia, and Wang Chen from Hong Kong and made it to the quarter-finals. For her, each round came as a big battle. This was a memorable moment for her and the entire country because it was the first time an Indian player made it to the quarter finals. All eyes were on Saina. But unfortunately, she lost it to Maria Kristin Yulianti from Indonesia.

  In an interview, when she was asked what went wrong in the third game, she replied, “I could not read the drift once I changed sides. On many occasions, I expected her shuttle to land outside and left it only to see it land inside. I just could not read that. That also explains why I knocked a few shots wide and long.”

  This was Saina’s maiden Olympic trip. It went down to 28-26 14-21.

  Now, every badminton player dreams of pushing for the international circuit after carving a rock solid niche at the national level. These players yearn for making it big at the Super Series and the Grand Prix.

  The Super Series

  The Super Series for badminton can be compared to the Grand Slam in tennis. No wonder these are the most sought after series among aspiring and established players. The BWF Super Series is a badminton tournament introduced by Badminton World Federation (BWF) in order to improve the quality of the sport. It was launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007. The tournament is played in eleven countries (China hosts two events), with successful players invited to the Super Series final held at the year end. There are about thirteen tournaments in the super series category. These are spread throughout the years.

  The next most important ones are the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold.

  Grand Prix

  There are two levels of Grand Prix Events – Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. These are individual events.

  World Grand Prix Events have singles (men/women) and doubles (men/women/mixed) competitions and are open to all badminton players who are members of their respective national associations affiliated to the BWF.

  Grand Prix tournaments are classified as Level 3 events, one below Super Series. The highest level of Grand Prix event is the Grand Prix Gold with a prize pool of US $120,000 minimum and Grand Prix with US$ 50,000 minimum. All Grand Prix events offer
ranking points to players according to the classification of each tournament.

  The Grand Prix events are gaining much popularity with Member Associations and the growth of the sport was again clearly demonstrated with a significant increase in Grand Prix tournaments. In 2011, 12 Member Associations successfully hosted the Grand Prix Gold while 4 Member Association hosted the Grand Prix events providing players with the opportunity to win a total of USD $1,805,000 in prize money.

  Playing in India is all about participating in the Commonwealth Games, The Asian Games, and Olympics. This means there are about thirty-five or more international tournaments to play in a year. But sometimes, it is impossible for a player to play them all. All they can do is try to perform well in the games they are fortunate enough to take part in.

  So in 2008, Saina did the same. She tried her best to get the taste of victory in the Chinese Taipei open and won. It is rated as the one of the most prestigious Grand Prix tournaments. The same year, Saina also made it to the Super Series Finals. She was the semi finalist in the series. So this way, the slow-moving 2007 in Saina’s life saw a new dramatic turn with the advent of 2008. She was busy with tournaments, championships and much more. This time, she was being observed as a serious player both by the media and badminton fans.

  The year 2008 and its busy routine was just the start in Saina’s life. There was a lot to look forward to in the coming years. After all, she had trained a lot and had worked really hard to be a part of this game. It is the perfect time to reap rewards.

  Saina ranked 200 and suddenly she climbed up to 28th position. This was indeed a huge achievement. Her major goal was to be ranked in the top 10 category. By the grace of Almighty and her consistent efforts, Saina’s dream came true in the year 2008.

  Breaking into the world’s top ten was Saina Nehwal’s long-time dream, and she gave herself till the end of 2008 to reach there. On Thursday, the teenage sensation achieved both with a measure of comfort. With four weeks still left in 2008, Saina made the No 10 spot her own on the latest Badminton World Federation rankings. And by January 2009, she moved up one place and reached the number 9 position.