Badminton Pride of India: Saina Nehwal Story

Almost every one of us has played badminton, at least once in our lifetime. Every time we think of this game, it's inevitable to remember the legendary Badminton champion, Saina Nehwal. The lady has bagged numerous awards and wide recognition for India in the Olympics and other Badminton championships. Given her achievements at such a young age, it becomes vital to look into her life and career.

So this article will look into her life story and the lessons that we can learn from her achievements.

Saina Nehwal: Early life

Saina Nehwal was born in Hisar Haryana in 1990. Her father, Harvir Singh Nehwal, was a PhD in Agriculture science and her mother, Usha Rani, was a state-level badminton player.

Saina developed an interest in badminton at the age of 8 years when her family relocated to Hyderabad. Her mother always had a dream to make Saina a national level badminton player. Her parents were also badminton champions and ready to invest in her Badminton career and training.

Saina Nehwal Story: Coaching & Coaches

• Nani Prasad Rao Saina's father took him to Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Stadium, where a prominent coach, Nani Prasad Rao, saw Saina's potential. Mr. Rao gave excellent guidance to Saina & influenced his father to enroll Saina in formal coaching. He played a key role in her early training.
• SM Arif After his transfer, Saina received the guidance of Dronacharya Awardee SM Arif. Arif motivated Saina to play in the tougher competition. In an interview, he acknowledged the efforts put by Saina in her training.
• Pullela Gopichand When SM Arif retired, Pullela Gopichand, a prominent Badminton player, gave rigorous training to Saina and helped her in winning the 2012 Bronze Olympic Medal in London.
• Vimal Kumar Saina was also trained under coach Vimal Kumar. His guidance, combined with Saina's hard work, bagged her numerous achievements.

Saina's Career

Saina won her first victory in badminton in 2002 in the Under 13 category Sub-Junior Badminton national championship.

In 2005, she was adjudged the Senior National Championship winner.

Then there was no stopping to her badminton career. She played in various badminton tournaments. She won the Asian Satellite Badminton tournament in 2005, which was her first international award.

Losses in Game

Although Saina's badminton career began with significant achievements, she also faced many defeats in her life.

In 2006, she ended up as the runner up in World Championship Debut. She had also lost the 2007 Debut all England Badminton championship. In the same year, she lost the 2nd world Junior Badminton championship.

Comeback

But she did not let the failure overpower her. She made a successful comeback with a Gold medal in the Commonwealth youth championship. Then she represented India in several international Badminton Championships like the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Saina also won the 2009 Indonesian Open and reached the quarterfinals of the World Badminton championship. Under her captainship in the 2014 Uber Cup, the Indian Badminton team won a bronze medal.

Recent Victory: Her most recent victory was in the 2018 Commonwealth games, where she bagged two gold medals. The first one was in the singles category, while the other one was in Mixed doubles.

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Achievements

• Saina Nehwal won the 2012 Bronze Olympic Medal in Badminton and became the first-ever Indian badminton player to win an Olympics medal.
• Saina Nehwal has won 24 international titles, including first rank in Badminton World Federation (BWF) Tour and eleven Superseries title.
• She bagged World no. 1 ranking in 2015.
• She has won three gold medals in the commonwealth games. She was also the first Indian to win two singles gold medals in the Commonwealth games.
• She has also received Padma Bhushan in 2016, besides Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna award.

Facts about Saina Nehwal

• Saina is also known for philanthropic work. She bagged the 18th rank in the list of 'most charitable athletes.'
• Besides an excellent badminton player, Saina Nehwal is also a brown belt in Karate.
• Saina Nehwal had married Parupalli Kashyap, who is also a badminton player, in 2018.

Future Goals

• Saina, who originally belongs to Haryana, wishes to set up a Badminton Academy in Haryana.
• Saina is also practicing hard for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She has to first feature in the top 16 players to qualify for the Olympics.

Final Lessons

The victories and defeats of Saina Nehwal as a Badminton player give many lessons.

• Right Guidance The first thing that we see in her life is the importance of proper guidance. Throughout her life, she got guidance first from her parents and then from different coaches. This shows that behind any successful person there are several people: like her parents, coach etc.
• Be Positive The second learning is that winning and losing are both parts of life. When you are experiencing victories, you should not stop learning and improving, and when you lose something, you should stay optimistic and keep working hard. Saina also did the same and was able to make a comeback even after frequent defeats.