HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal, 19, has been making frequent trips into uncharted territory over the last few years.
On Sunday, she pushed the envelope big time, beating China’s world number three Wang Lin to win the Indonesian Open, becoming the first Indian to win a super series badminton tournament.
Minutes before the final, Saina called her father Harvir Singh from Jakarta. “Don’t worry, I will beat the Chinese girl,” she told him. Thrilled at his daughter’s win, Singh said, “I remember, in 1990, when as a five month-old baby, Saina visited the indoor stadium at Hissar, she suddenly broke into a hearty laugh. I believe she fell in love with the game from a very young age.” Badminton great Prakash Padukone feels Saina’s win will be the turning point of her career.
“She will very soon become world number one.” Another badminton ace, Pullela Gopi Chand, said, “She is fearless and gritty. By breaking the Chinese code, she has taken giant strides.” He believes that Saina is World Champion material. In fact, she will go for it in the first week of August on home-turf in the seven-star World Championship at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.
For now, the world number eight can savour the $18,750 prize money, the highest-ever won by an Indian badminton player, from the Indonesian Open and wait for the new ranking to be released next week. She could be mixing it up with the top five in the world.