Saina Nehwal believes that she is in a much better frame of mind and hopes for better results (she won a bronze in 2012) as she spearheads the Indian badminton challenge at Rio.
“Every effort is being made to come back with a medal. I will not be found wanting in Rio and hope the results will be fruitful,” she says. “Vimal sir has been motivating me so much that I feel better prepared to show the results.”
Asked how different her approach for Rio would be, Saina says: “It is another chapter with a lot of changes in terms of styles and strategies of the top players. Personally, I suffered some nagging injuries but feel great mentally and physically now. I consider myself a very good learner and whatever my coach is teaching me I try to grasp.
“Any Olympics is a huge challenge and you see so many ups and downs between editions. By God’s grace, I believe that the build-up for me has been good in terms of training and the recent Australian Open title was just perfect before this Games,” says Saina.
The champion shuttler doesn’t want to name her biggest challengers in Rio. “You cannot pick a player or two as your major challengers will be there. In terms of competition, it will be like a Super Series event, where the big guns line up, but the tag of Olympics makes a huge difference,” says Saina, winner of 22 international titles.
“To represent India for a third straight time is definitely a matter of pride. I don’t think I have had to make major adjustments in my game except improving in some areas which every player has to do before a major event. I am looking at a better approach to drops, dribbling and half-smashes.”
Saina brushes aside the pressure of expectations. “It will be there and I hear about it in the media. But once you are on the court, you have to shut yourself away from all these issues and focus on the match,” insists India’s premier woman shuttler.
On the prospects of the Indian badminton contingent, Saina says that because she is training away from her teammates, it is very difficult to judge matters. “I sincerely convey my best wishes not just to my fellow shuttlers but to the entire Indian Olympic contingent,” she says.
