Ace shuttler's coach Atik Jauhari is confident of gold in London 2012
Ace shuttler's coach Atik Jauhari is confident of gold in London 2012 Saina Nehwal
Indonesian master coach Atik Jauhari could not have wished to return home to Jakarta on a better high as he prepares to pack his bags given his contract with the Indian badminton team expires at the end of this month.
"Saina Nehwal's Hong Kong Super Series win (on Sunday) has been one of the most satisfying results of my 29-month long stint with Indian badminton. I can now happily go home and rest considering it's a job well done," the 62-year-old told MiD DAY from Hyderabad yesterday.
No telephone call 
Surprisingly, even as Saina's mobile phone would have been continuously busy since Sunday as she would have been answering congratulatory messages from across the world, Jauhari and his ward have not had a chat. "We don't talk over the phone. I prefer to talk to her in person and so will be meeting her tomorrow at the Gopichand Academy," said Jauhari, who was all praise for the manner in which Saina calculatedly decimated her Chinese opponent Wang Shixian in the final.
Mental toughness
"Saina could have easily lost the match after she went down in the first game. But it's mental toughness that got her through. She worked around Wang and eventually prevailed (15-21, 21-16, 21-17). It's a well earned victory," explained Jauhari, who has previously coached legends of the game like Indonesian Lim Swie King and India's Prakash Padukone.
For those who believe Saina's Asian Games disappointment was shocking, here's an antithesis. "There was less than a month between the New Delhi Commonwealth Games (Oct 3-14) and the Guangzhou Asian Games (Nov 12-27). And to add to this, since Saina won gold in Delhi there were loads of felicitation functions to attend too. This left her with absolutely no time to prepare for the Asian Games. So, I don't think her defeat in the quarter-finals of the Asiad is all that shocking," said Jauhari, even as he predicted a golden future ahead for the 20-year-old Hyderabadi.
Five years to peak
"The golden age for a singles player is 25, so Saina has a long way to reach that peak age. Besides, most of her top opponents are older than her, which means they will quit the game by the time she hits her peak. I believe Saina will be an Olympic champion in London," said Jauhari.
ADVERTISEMENT
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
