Saina Nehwal has been at the top of her game a few years ago, the first non-Chinese player to make her way to the the top of Badminton rankings. She has seen the highs and lows in her badminton career from a very young age. But the numero uno badminton star of the present generation has never enjoyed her badminton as much as she is doing so now.
She is back in the top 10 in the badminton world rankings, she has won the gold in the Common Wealth Games and reached the semifinals of the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) last week and to put it in her own words, “I feel good and strong.”
For a player who had immense self belief in her ability to break the hegemony of the Chinese in world badminton, she has found the current world number one Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, a very tough, impossible to beat till now.
In the ABC semifinal, she gave it her all against Tai Tzu but ended up losing 25-27, 19-21 in a thriller of a match. This was her eighth straight loss to Tai Tzu in 16 meetings thus far, and the third this year.
However, the match showcased just how well Saina was moving on the court, bringing all her experience to the fore. But she promises that she is a match or two only away from cracking the code to beat Tai Tzu.
In the capital for the felicitation of the Gold medal winning Badminton team at CWG by the Badminton Association of India, the resurgent Saina said about the recent semifinal loss to her nemesis, “I am going strong, going well and this match if I had won against Tai Tzu would have given me confidence”
Asked how long could it take to break the “Tai Tzu Ying code”, Saina said: “One or two matches, and I am sure I will be able to handle it.”
Decoding Tai Tzu’s game and where she scores not just over herself but all the top ranked players currently, Saina said, “I think all of us are struggling with that code, not only me, I can see many of us are struggling. She is a very, very tricky player, not a simple player. Her every shot is a deceptive shot, you will go mad playing against her if you are not strong enough. She can make you go mad at any point.”
“If you have a 20-shot rally with her, at least 17 shots will be with a lot of good flicks, good hand stopping movements, which only people on the court can understand. Only when you are on the court you can understand how much you are stopping and moving. And that stop-moving (style) is so difficult that it makes you tired in two games and the third game is a challenge with her.”
Tai Tzu has also combined her superb deceptive strokeplay with increased fitness and strength, which ensures that the rest of the pack are only playing catch up with her. “That is why she is there for long because she knows her strength that she is very good with her hands, and her strokes, she had to improve on her fitness and she has done that too. So she is now moving freely, picking up those difficult shots and making us struggle in the next shot.”
Clearly, the last loss still rankles. Even now Saina seems to be dissecting the semifinal match in her mind. “It was a matter of last two points when she was a little bit more aggressive and I did not realise that. She suddenly changed in the last two points. That was what happened in both the games. I was leading in both the games. I should have been more alert in the last few points. She is really smart and I found it this time that she really wants to do well in the last few points."
Chief coach Pullela Gopichand was full of praise for his entire team saying that the peers have been trying to do but couldn’t, this present team could manage – win a team gold. Something that augurs well for India when it comes to competitions like Thomas and Uber Cup set to take place later this month and Asian Games.
The entire team, coaches and support staff was given cash awards individually and as a team by BAI.