Saina Nehwal, 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, is upbeat about her as well as India’s overall performance in badminton in Gold Coast; PV Sindhu is aware of expectations in her second CWG
Saina Nehwal shares a special bond with the Commonwealth Games.
In 2006, a 16-year-old Indian girl announced her arrival at the world badminton stage in Melbourne, winning bronze in the mixed team event. In 2010, she made the world stage her own at home, clinching a gold in singles in New Delhi to become the first Indian woman shuttler to do so, and silver in mixed doubles.
"I got a name from the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, that a new player has come in badminton from India," Saina recalled in an interview with DNA. "I would say it was the starting point for me in my career. It was very ideal to get a big platform at such a tender age."
Cut to 2018.
As she takes off to Gold Coast for her third appearance in CWG – she missed the 2014 edition due to injury – Saina would hope that the mutual love she shares with the tournament helps her reinvent her dominance on the world stage.
Ever since the former world No. 1 underwent a knee surgery after the 2016 Rio Olympics, Saina has found it tough to get to the level that made her the top-ranked player before the gruesome injury stalled her career.
Her bronze-winning effort at the 2017 World Championships in Glasgow was the closest she could get to being her former self, but that show was interspersed by some inconsistent results.
The 28-year-old acknowledged that the scale of the injury she suffered changed the direction of her professional career completely.
"Injuries and sports go hand in hand, but it's the gravity of them that changes players' life. All we can do is take good help from our support staff to come back in form, and I did the same. I recovered well from the injury due to the support of coaches, support staff and moral support of my parents," she said.
Keen to go in only one direction now, this CWG gives the 12th-ranked Indian an ideal platform to rewind the clock, yet at the same time surge ahead with a renewed sense of confidence.
"I want to show my worth as a player in these Games," Saina said. "We also have the Asian Games after this, so I am keenly looking forward to showing better results."
Back under the wings of national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, Saina had good reason to feel upbeat.
The Hyderabadi has had a positive start to the year, reaching the final of the Indonesia Masters. She labelled this her "best season so far", despite her first-round exit at the All England Championships at the hands of world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying.
"Since the final in Indonesia, I made it to the quarterfinals at the India Open. I lost in the first round at All England, but that was to a player ranked No. 1 in the world. So performance wise, this has been the best season so far," she said.
Not only is she bullish about her personal form heading into the CWG, but also that of the entire Indian badminton contingent travelling with her to Gold Coast.
"India will emerge as the overall best performer at Gold Coast," Saina said. "We have the best contingent across all disciplines and some of the best performers in the world currently. I hope we will break all records in these Games."
DID YOU KNOW?
- The first Indian to win a medal in badminton at the Commonwealth Games was Dinesh Khanna, who won bronze in men’s singles in 1966
- Parupalli Kashyap is the last Indian shuttler to win a gold at the Commonwealth Games, bagging the yellow metal in the 2014 edition
19
No. of medals India have won in badminton at the CWG — 5 gold, 4 silver and 10 bronze
SQUAD
MEN: Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Chirag Shetty, Satwik Sairaj, Pranaav Jerry Chopra
WOMEN: PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Ashwini Ponnappa, Sikki Reddy, Ruthvika Shivani Gadde
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Ever since the former world No. 1 underwent a knee surgery after the 2016 Rio Olympics, Saina has found it tough to get to the level that made her the top-ranked player before the gruesome injury stalled her career.
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