Saina's star shines

In the past, Indian badminton had only two stars "" prakash padukone and gopichand. Saina Nehwal's superb show in 2006 has changed that.

If you are not a sports enthusiast, you may confuse her name with that of (the more visible) Sania Mirza. But there is no mistaking Saina Nehwal's achievements. One of the brightest stars on the Indian sports firmament, 16-year-old Saina has scaled new heights in 2006.

Till now, when one spoke of badminton, the only two Indians who came to mind were Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand. There were no other champs written or talked about.

Till Saina's meteoric rise, that is. But amidst all her wins, the teenager stays firmly grounded. "I have kept my feet firmly on the ground and know that this is just the beginning," she says modestly enough.

Born in Haryana, Saina comes from a family of dedicated players. Both her parents have been state-level badminton champions and it was but natural for the youngster to follow in their footsteps.

Father Harvir Singh, a scientist with the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, says he always had faith in her talent. He took her to Nani Prasad Rao, the then badminton coach of Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), who also saw her immense potential. "It all started in 1999, when I was nine years old. Rao sir asked me to play and thought I had the potential to do well," Saina says.

After that, for two years, she was under Rao's tutelage before training under national coach S M Arif. "It was challenging but I had to sacrifice a lot of things for all this," the sportsstar remembers. Currently, Saina trains at an academy run by Gopichand and adds that his guidance has been very helpful.

Becoming a champ, obviously, has had its flip side. For one, juggling academics "" still considered so important in India "" with sports has not been easy.

However, Saina, a class 12 student, says that she does not miss all the regular stuff a student her age does. "Playing for India and winning matches makes me so proud that I forget about everything else." Did she expect her first year in the international circuit to be so phenomenal? "To be honest, no," she is candid, "I didn't expect so many things happening in such a quick time."

Last year, Saina not only dominated all the national events but even made a name for herself on the international circuit. She became the first Indian woman to win a four-star badminton event when she stunned everyone to win the Philippines Open.

The Hyderabad-based teenager was India's top woman badminton player, climbing a staggering 87 rungs in the singles rankings to attain her career-best ranking of world number 28.

Expectations have been on an all-time high after this sensational debut. A lot of athletes suffer from the second season syndrome; for instance, tennis player Sania Mirza had an indifferent second year in international tournaments. But Saina is not at all fazed by the expectations.

"I know a lot is expected out of me but my job is to work as hard as I can and try my best on court." She says that her parents are her pillars of support. But has it not been tough to make a name for herself in a sport like badminton? "No," she says, "hard work always pays off in any sport and fortunately for me, I had the support of my parents and my coaches."

Talk to her about brand endorsements and she says this is something which an athlete has to live with in today's time, so she is not worried about such things. "I just want to play for my country and do well. The rest is all fringe benefit," she says firmly.

In her spare time, Saina loves to read "mystery" books and adores Hrithik Roshan. But her burning ambition for the near future remains constant. "I want to win the Olympic gold and do my country proud," she says. Let's hope that this star continues to shine just as bright in the future.

SAINA'S MERIT-CARD

Junior World Badminton Championship: Finalist.

Commonwealth Games: Bronze medal in the mixed team event "" defeated a higher-ranked Tracey Hallam in the semi-finals.

Philippines Open: Won the event defeating Julia Xian Pei Wong of Malaysia and several higher ranked players, including the top-seed. She was unseeded and ranked 86 at the beginning of the tournament.

Pre-2006
Won the Czechoslovakia Junior Open tournament in 2003.
Won the silver medal in the 2nd Youth Commonwealth Games held in Bedigo, Australia in 2004.
Pre-quarterfinalist in the Junior World Cup held in Canada, 2004.