Indian shuttler is on the cusp of the biggest win of her career, as she enters the final of Chinese Taipei Gold Grand Prix beating Pia Zebadiah Bernadet 21-7 21-11

MUMBAI: Harvir Singh was watching the under-16 badminton finals in Hyderabad on Saturday afternoon when he received the good news about his 18-year-old daughter. At the completion of the final, Harvir was to collect Rs 1.5 lakh on behalf of Saina Nehwal at a felicitation ceremony organised for the World No.14.

In Sinhuang, Chinese Taipei, Saina was garnering further glory.

Harvir had just heard that Saina had beaten World No.76 Pia Zebadiah Bernadet of Indonesia. The 21-7 21-11 verdict in favour of the Indian put her in the final of the Gold Grand Prix event.

In 2006, Saina made her mark by winning the Philippines Open to become the first Indian woman to win a Grand Prix event.

The Chinese Taipei event ranks a step higher on the badminton calendar and is second only to Super Series events. Saina is on the cusp of her biggest win yet.

“I am playing at my best. I haven’t felt so very confident about my game before. This year has been really good for me,” Saina told DNA. Her semifinal win was as easy as the scoreline suggests.

Saina had beaten Bernadet 21-19 21-19 in their previous meeting at the Dutch Open, but Saturday’s scoreline shows how Saina’s game has improved by leaps and bounds.
“Bernadet prefers to play long rallies and keeps the shuttle in play. I wanted to finish off the points fast. My half-smashes really worked today (Saturday) and I was able to dictate the flow of the game. She made a few mistakes and I took full advantage,” a confident Saina said.

India’s rising star is candid in her admission that this has been a watershed year of sorts in her career. “I believe my semifinal showing at the Singapore Open (Super Series) gave me a lot of confidence. I did well during my South-East Asia tour and my quarterfinal finish at the Olympics also made me believe that I can perform better and better with every outing,” Saina added.

Her opponent in the final is Lydia Li Ya Cheah of Malaysia, a player ranked 72 in the world and someone, who Saina has beaten on the junior circuit in 2004.

“Lydia plays a very attacking game. I may have to slow down the game in order to surprise her. I am confident going into the final. Hopefully, I will have a great outing,” Saina added.

National coach Pullela Gopi Chand believes that the final will be a tough match. “I have seen Lydia play some very good games at the Uber Cup. Lydia has nothing to lose so Saina will have to be at her best. On current form Saina looks good for the title,” Gopi Chand said from Hyderabad.

Saina will participate in the Yonex Open Japan Super Series that begins from Tuesday and will then participate in the China Masters Super Series that runs from September 23 to 28.


Saina has one eye on the World rankings. “I don’t think I will break into the top-10 if I win the Chinese Taipei event. I am not sure. Some of the girls are way ahead in the points. But maybe, if I do well in the Japan and China Super Series events I could rise up the rankings considerably. My aim is to break into the top-10 and then stay within the top-10,” Saina added.