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Saina set to make up for lack of stars
If you were contemplating a trip to Chennai, now is the time. Those already in the southern city are enjoying a welcome window of good weather — cloudy skies and cool breezes — as Saina Nehwal, the queen of Indian badminton, prepares to make her presence felt, reports Anupma Tripathi.
If you were contemplating a trip to Chennai, now is the time. Those already in the southern city are enjoying a welcome window of good weather — cloudy skies and cool breezes — as Saina Nehwal, the queen of Indian badminton, prepares to make her presence felt.
Training hard at the Nehru Indoor Stadium, the ace Indian shuttler is keen to put her best foot forward at the India Open that begins on Tuesday.
“My best finish has been a quarterfinal last year,” said world No. 6 Saina. “I have been practising hard for the past weeks and I’ll be looking to perform well here.”
Fresh from her exploits at the Asian Championships in Delhi — where a decent run was cut short in the semifinals — and the Uber Cup finals, Saina is back on court after a much-needed break. “I have had enough rest. My performances in the recent past have been morale-boosting and I intend to take confidence into the championship,” she said.
As reported by the Hindustan Times, Saina’s presence is the only silver lining at an event that all other top stars have skipped. “We could not get any other dates in view of the packed calendar,” BAI joint secretary Punnaiah Choudary explained. “The Thomas Cup and Uber Cup were in May, followed by two Super Series events in Singapore and Indonesia later this month, the World championship in August, the Commonwealth Games (October) and the Asian Games (November).”
But Saina was undeterred by the lack of stars. “Every individual has his or her opinion. Besides, it’s a Grand Prix. Players may want to opt for tournaments with higher purse and ranking points,” she said. “But it’s a big event for our country and I didn’t want to miss it.” she said.
Emerging shuttler and third seed, P Kashyap was optimistic of his own chances.
“Seriously, I think I can win the tournament,” said the 19-year-old.
“It’s a sorry state of affairs that not many foreign players turn up, but I guess everyone has a commitment to keep. Like the Chinese are busy playing the Chinese League.”
India’s top guns, Chetan Anand, ranked No.19, and Saina, are the top seeds. Saina will face Thilini Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka in Round 1 while Anand has a bye. Bolstering the men’s singles draw is Malaysia’s 2003 All-England champion, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim who is ranked No. 21.
In the women’s singles, Saina’s major competition is Malaysia’s Mew Choo Wong, ranked 22 and seeded second. Wong last faced Saina at the Asian Championships where she succumbed in the quarters.
A Level-3 event, the India Open offers ranking points ranging from 25 (first round) to 5,000 (winner) as against 40 to 9,200 in the Super Series.
