"Saina Nehwal is the most complete badminton player to have emerged from India. And the fact that she has already achieved so much while only 19 speaks volumes of her discipline and future."
"Saina Nehwal is the most complete badminton player to have emerged from India. And the fact that she has already achieved so much while only 19 speaks volumes of her discipline and future."
The legendary Prakash Padukone sure knows what he is talking about.
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The Badminton World Federation recently named the teenager as the most valuable and fastest progressing player on the world circuit and the seventh ranked teenager is poised to hit the top three by September-October this year.
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| Saina Nehwal |
"When I talked to Saina after her stupendous victory at the Indonesia World Series event, I would have thought that like all players, she would be celebrating," said Gopichand. "But all she wanted to know was what training programme she should follow the very same evening since the Malaysian Open was looming next week. It is her focus and discipline that really astounds me. I mean, there are some very serious players out there, but Saina is something else."
Women power
The fact that this precocious Hyderabad teenager is already the best shuttler produced on the distaff side of Indian badminton is well accepted. Ami Ghia was World No 7 when the rankings first came out.
But the graceful Ami hardly ever faced and defeated top ranked Chinese like Li Ling Wei, Han Ai Ping. Aparna Popat played to her strengths and reached the 16th spot but was found lacking against all top-ranked Asian players of her time.
Madhumita Bisht had everything going for her, except the right temperament to excel at the very top. She did defeat Indonesian World No 2 K Sarwendah in a career-best showing, but that is not a patch on what Saina has achieved.
Five top men
To complete the picture, there are only five male players who made an impact at the top. Prakash Nath reached All-England finals in 1949, but faded thereafter. The late Syed Modi delighted his fraternity when he won the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games gold, but did not work hard enough to reach the top 10.
Gopichand had far too many serious injuries in his glittering career and bloomed late. The All-England crown in year 2000 was his one big contribution when he was almost 28.
But Gopi also knocked out some big names to reach a world rank of four as did Nandu Natekar, unofficially World No 4 in 1956-57 after he won the King's Cup in Bangkok.
But paucity of international exposure never allowed Natekar to rise to his true potential, even though he was single-handedly instrumental in India reaching the finals of Thomas Cup challenge rounds in the 1950s.
In the ever-changing and far more competitive world of badminton, Saina has already surpassed the above personalities. Winner of Taipei, Philippines and Indonesian Opens, she was also the World junior champion last year as well as runner-up in same event in 2006.
She has defeated all big names and plays without any fear against the very best of China and other Asian countries.
Padukone's feats
So is she the best ever Indian? The only person who, statistically speaking, is ahead of her is Padukone, who won the 1978 Commonwealth gold at 24 and then won the British Masters in 1979 followed by two great years of 1980 and 1981 when he single-handedly pushed Indian Badminton to the front pages of newspapers.
The year 1980 saw him winning the All-England, Danish and Swedish Opens. He followed this up with a memorable win at the inaugural World Cup in Kuala Lumpur where he beat top Chinese Han Jian 15-0 in the first game, and the Indian Masters in Pune.
China joined the International Badminton Federation only in 1981 and by 1982, Prakash was at the receiving end against the top Chinese players.
It's still early days for Saina. But this could well be the start of a fantastic career. Her appetite for hard work, her discipline in every aspect of her life ensures that she is extremely fit and focused towards her art.
There are simply no shortcomings in her game. Her temperament is very good and her court anticipation tremendous. She is good on both flanks and is aggressive on court.
She is bound to surpass Padukone's dizzying heights in the next year or two if she continues playing superbly. It is only a matter of time before Saina is crowned not only the best shuttler India has ever seen, but perhaps the best female athlete of all time.
The writer is a former international badminton player
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