That's what national coach and Saina Nehwal's mentor Pullela Gopichand feels about her Hong Kong title
That's what national coach and Saina Nehwal's mentor Pullela Gopichand feels about her Hong Kong title No 1: Saina Nehwal. pic/afp
Badminton coach P Gopichand's chest bloated with pride after super shuttler Saina Nehwal won her third Super Series title of the year at the Hong Kong Open by beating China's Wang Shixian in a 70 minute thriller 21-15, 21-16, 21-17.
Paris loss 
Wang, who won the recently concluded Asian Games, had hammered the Indian ace in their only previous encounter at the Paris World Championships' quarter-finals 21-8, 21-14 earlier this year. But yesterday in Hong Kong, Saina made history and this is a red-letter day for Indian sports.
As a bonus Saina may also become World No 1, something very few sportspersons of the country have achieved.
Gopichand labelled the win as Saina's most important. "This is going to change her life. This was by far the most important victory for her. She was a bit vulnerable against the Chinese before. But today she has climbed that Everest. Now she will be the most feared player in the world," said Gopichand.
Saina trained really hard after the CWG almost two months ago and it was a setback when she did not do much at the Guangzhou Asian Games thereafter. But coach Gopichand was sure that this was a momentary low in her career. "Saina trained really hard after the CWG. She wanted to win a medal in Guangzhou, but was not able to play to her potential. But today against a very fast and fit opponent, Saina showed that she is fitter than the rest. I am very happy, proud and thankful that we have such an outstanding athlete."
Saina lost the first game in 20 minutes and was always behind in points. She got caught many times on the deep forehand area by Wang's flat flicks. But she waited for the same stroke in the second, stood her ground and came up with winners to stun the Chinese ace.
Planned move
She was comfortable right through in the second game, serving low and going on the offensive whenever the opportunity arose, racing ahead from five-each in this game. She found the lines on her down-the-line smashes to go to 11-5 and then 19-12. A late fightback saw Wang come close at 16-19, but Saina's grip on the game was far too strong and she didn't relinquish it, winning Game Two in 24 minutes.
The decider again saw Saina taking the early lead. She played some dramatic net shots and her all-round retrieving had Wang gasping for breath in the long rallies. But the Chinese shuttler came back to equalise and lead 14-13 at one stage ufffd the only time Saina looked a bit out of sync. However after 16-16, Saina raised the bar and snatched the crown from under Wang's feet.
u00a0u00a0u00a0 It has been a great year for Saina. She was a semi-finalist at All-England this year, won the Singapore Super Series, retained the Indonesian Super Series, won the India Open in Chennai ufffd three back-to-back tournaments. She then went on to win sold at the Common-wealth Games in New Delhi and now the Hong Kong Super Series title. The 20-year-old legend, is also poised to lead the world rankings, for the very first time in her career. But as she told MiD DAY before, "I am more interested in big titles. Being No 1 is good, but the titles are more important."
Proven champion
She sure has proved in Hong Kong that she has what it takes to win the big titles. The bonus of the top ranking will always be welcomed by a country that is now in love with Saina Nehwal ufffd shuttler extraordinaire!
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