On the day most eyes were set on Australia’s triumph at the cricket World Cup, an Indian duo achieved what had seemed unthinkable only a few years ago. Saina Nehwal and K. Srikanth reigned victorious at the Indian Open badminton championship in New Delhi on March 29. For the first time, Indian players won the men and women’s singles titles at home.
While Srikanth’s rise has been impressive, Saina’s victory was made sweeter by the fact that she became the first Indian woman to become world number one in singles. This was a landmark moment in Indian sport.
While there’s more to badminton than gaining the number one spot, this doesn’t devalue Saina’s achievement. The 25-year-old has battled numerous obstacles to reach the pinnacle of her sport. Playing any sport professionally in a country where women are usually discouraged from pursuing sports is laudable. Saina’s attempts to become a successful badminton player, however, go beyond the usual battles of gender equality.
Crisis
The Hisar-born girl had thought of quitting the sport last year. After losing four times in a row to the then world number one Li Xuerui, Saina was disheartened. Overall, the Chinese Li had defeated her Indian counterpart eight times. Saina, thankfully, did not give up.
Faced with a crisis, she contacted former player and chief coach Vimal Kumar. After gaining Kumar’s acceptance, Saina shifted her residence to Bengaluru with her mother. This allowed her to train for seven hours a day at the Prakash Padukone Academy. Kumar had remarked that one of the factors behind Saina’s failure was the lack of variety in her game.
The corrections were made and the results have followed. From ninth in June last year, Saina has risen to the summit of women’s badminton. This period has seen her win the China Open and Grand Prix (Lucknow) titles. Last month, Saina also became the first Indian woman to play the final at the prestigious All England Badminton Championships. But she lost the title to Spain’s Carolina Marin.
The Spanish player, though, handed the number one rank to Saina on March 28 after the former lost in the Indian Open semifinals.
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