Bengaluru: She has been the poster child for badminton for years in India. An athlete, who gives hope and sets a benchmark for the youngsters aspiring to reach the highest levels of the sport. Common sense would dictate that carrying such a responsibility is no easy task. But then again, the same common sense would reassure that Saina Nehwal wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Four years after her bronze-winning effort at the 2012 London Olympics, the shuttler is once again a medal hope for the country at Rio. So what has changed in the last four years? “The changes are that I became world no.1. I won the World Championship silver medal. I beat a couple of top players whom I had never defeated before. When I started playing, I didn’t even think I would play one Olympics,” said Saina here on Thursday. “It’s a lot of hard work. The Olympics is something which we can’t explain in words.
“It’s not easy to describe how you feel when you get a medal. It’s like a dream,” she stressed. And it is that dream that the 26-year-old is chasing once again. “There are still four weeks. I am preparing hard. Everyone has one aim, getting a medal. I am really happy that in badminton, we are seven of us (going to Rio). All of us have been performing well from last 2-3 years. So I am sure that we have a lot of chances in getting medals in almost every event. About the others, I would just say all the best and we have the capability to do well,” she remarked at the sidelines of a promotional event.
The badminton icon’s career has gone up a couple of levels in the last few years, injuries notwithstanding, when she not only reached the final of the prestigious All England championship but also reached the pinnacle of the world rankings since switching to Vimal Kumar as her coach and shifting her base to Bengaluru. With a timely Australian Open Super Series win last month, which completed her return from an injury and inconsistency-marred season, the Hyderabad girl is full of confidence but is pragmatic in her approach ahead of the Olympics.
“Just forget Olympics and take it as Rio Super Series. Take it as another tournament. We have a lot of time in between to prepare and get to a higher level,” opined Saina, who has moved up one spot to number five in the world rankings.
“The Australian win was unbelievable after my performance against Carolina (Marin) in Indonesia. Yet I started in the first round and went on to win the tournament. “For Rio, there is time for a lot of things, for preparation, for strategy and I can prepare well because I will get the draw three weeks ahead. “It is the toughest tournament and it happens once in four years. There is no round in the Olympics which will be easy,” she revealed naming Carolina Marin, Ratchanok Intanon, Wang Yihan, Li Xuerui as strong contenders. “There is one girl who is still a mystery for me.. Tai Tzu Ying. I hope I solve that puzzle as well. She is a very technical player. Everyone will be preparing hard and there will be lots of expectation and pressure. Hopefully I can play well,” she signed off.
