Indian star eyes London gold

Players from the China national badminton team hold up their head coach Li Yongbo after winning the finals of the 2011 Sudirman Cup world mixed team badminton championships in Qingdao, the coastal city in Shandong province, on Sunday. China defeated Denmark 3-0. Cui Meng / China Daily

Qingdao, Shandong - India has the second largest population in the world but no female athlete from that country has ever won an Olympic gold medal. A year out from the London Games, Saina Nehwal, the world No 4 women's shuttler and the top-ranked non-Chinese, has the best chance of achieving that breakthrough.

The high hopes placed on Nehwal were highlighted again on Thursday when she enjoyed an easy victory over China's Wang Xin in the quarterfinals of the just-concluded Sudirman Cup in Qingdao, Shandong province. Nehwal defeated the world No 3 21-15, 21-11.

After the resounding victory, Nehwal sat down with China Daily for an inclusive interview. Wearing a white and red striped T-shirt and jeans, with her streaked-blond shoulder-length hair falling down, the 21-year-old appears gentler in person than the one you see on court but all her determination is still evident.

"The Chinese players are really very strong and there are a few of them," said Nehwal, who has beaten all the top Chinese players. "But I am getting used to playing against them. I've been playing against them during the past four years so I know their games.

"I have nothing to lose. I just try to give my best. And when I give my best, I always have the feeling that I can beat anyone. I just don't get scared by anyone. From India, no women's player has played at such a level before. So I just want to do something that is good for badminton.

"I enjoy the feeling, I enjoy people calling me Saina, saying that she won so many tournaments and she is the best. More than playing badminton, it is winning that I like most."

Prakash Padukone used to be the most famous Indian badminton player after he won the men's singles at the All England Open in 1980 and the World Cup the following year.

However, no female player from the country had impressed the world until 2006, when Nehwal became the first Indian woman to win a 4-star tournament at the Philippines Open at the age of 16.

Since then she has set many records for her country, including being the first player to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in Beijing in 2008 and the first to win a BWF Super Series title at the Indonesia Open in 2009.

Meanwhile, with consistent high-level performances, an appealing appearance and a pleasant personality, Nehwal has replaced tennis ace Sania Mirza as the most popular female athlete in India.

In January 2010 she won the Padma Shri award, the highest award that an Indian athlete can win and also became one of the eight brand ambassadors for last year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

"There are a few good players here, but they don't perform consistently. I'm winning and I'm always doing well. I am always on TV and people see me. That's why so many people like me," said a confident Nehwal.

"I'm getting many endorsement offers and many sponsors. I'm very happy with it. Others keep saying that, Saina, you are the richest in badminton, but I know you must win to be recognized."

Readers of an international badminton magazine, Badzine, recently voted Nehwal the third-best badminton player of 2010. She won the most votes of all female players.

"I believe people love watching you not only because of how you play but also because of how you promote yourself. I do a lot of shoots with magazines, a lot of covers. I think people like it, so why not do it?" said Nehwal.

But the London Olympics are now her top priority.

Back in Hyderabad, where she is based, Nehwal trains seven hours a day six days a week, mostly with the men's players, which she has been doing since 2006 as there are no other world-class female players in India.

She is also supported by Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation for the promotion of sports and the Olympic movement in India.

Abhinav Bindra won the first individual Olympic gold medal for India in the men's 10-meter air rifle at the Beijing Olympics. On the women's side, the best result is a bronze medal won by Karnam Malleswari in the 69 kilogram class weightlifting at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

While the public considered reaching the quarterfinals in Beijing a great success for the then 18-year-old Nehwal, the ambitious teenager was upset by the result and is now eyeing a medal, even a gold, in London.

"I was very disappointed," she said. "I really wanted to win the tournament. Although I was young I always had the feeling that I could reach the finals. So when I played the quarterfinals, I kept thinking of the semifinals. Then I went blank," she said.

"It happens sometimes and that tournament really made me strong. Now it is my dream to win the London Olympics, I think I'm on the way, but there is a lot of work to do.

"One year is a very long time. We will see how my ranking goes. I just want to play against the top players now, to beat them and gain confidence."

China Daily

Saina Nehwal is hugely popular at home in India. Zhongti

(China Daily 05/30/2011 page24)