Shining shuttler

Saina Nehwal, India's ace shuttler has been recently crowned the Sportsperson of the Year by some media houses. Here's more information about the badminton queen:

She started learning badminton at the age of eight. She would wake up at six every morning and head to the stadium which was 20 km away.

After two hours of practice, her dad would drop her to school on his way to work.

Saina would often fall asleep on these journeys which prompted her mother to accompany them for the next three months.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics and the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships.

She created history in June 2009 by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesia Open with a smashing victory over higher-ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta.

Each time Saina wins a big tournament she indulges in an ice-cream, which she is otherwise prohibited from having. She also aspires to own a Mercedes Benz one day.