Badly needed a win like Australian Open before the Olympics, says Saina
She has an uphill task replicating the London 2012 medal-winning feat at Rio, but Saina Nehwal may have found the inspiration right when she needed it. Saina underlined the importance of her Australian Open win after she slipped from World No.1 to 8 with an injury and with the Olympics coming up.
“This win was significant as I was coming back from a dangerous injury,” she said in an exclusive to the Hindu.
Asked about her listless year until the win at Sydney, Saina admitted to the feeling of despondency and stated exactly how important the win at Sydney has been to her.
“Yes, there was a feeling of disappointment with the string of losses. I was the World No. 1 at the start of the year, and now slipped to No. 8. Making it to the semis and quarters was not good enough. In that backdrop, the Sydney triumph is a major morale-booster ahead of the Olympics,” Saina said.
Along with the title, it was also the manner of her win that caught the eye. Saina had been visibly struggling with fitness after injuries early in the year as she put up a humiliating performance in the Premier Badminton League. The misery continued as she started playing a defensive game in a bid to sidestep the injury and ended up with losses in tournament after tournament. But it was the Saina of old who showed up at Sydney as she ripped through defences with smash after smash. She defeated an in-form Ratchanok Intanon andlong-term nemesis Wang Yihan before overcoming a one-set deficit in the final to wrest the title.
“The victory was all the more sweet as I could beat Ratchanok, Wang Yihan and Sun in the knock-out phase. It was the kind of experience which is badly needed as we will be playing in the Olympics,” the London Olympics bronze medallist said.
“I saw the match between Carolina and Wang, and they played so fast in Indonesian Open. I just wanted to play like that and I am glad that I can do so soon in Sydney,” she added, reported the Hindu.
However, the Hyderabad lass looked determined not to get complacent after the victory. She underlined her need to be “tactically better”.
“I am aware that I need to be tactically better against these kinds of world-class players. Right from my childhood I was never talented, but worked really hard,” Saina said. “Vimal sir will be working on those half-smashes, close drops; touching-up some of the finer aspects to be a much better player in the Olympics,” Saina said, reported the Hindu.
As the questions inevitably moved to the Rio Games, Saina said, “All I can say is that I will go there and give my best. Till the Olympics, I will only be training and focusing on fine-tuning the game. I would love to be there in the Olympic Village six days before the competition, but it again depends on my finding a suitable sparring partner”.
She also dismissed reports that she was disappointed at not being selected as the torch-bearer for the coming Olympics ahead of Abhinav Bindra. “No, no. Not at all. I have great respect for Abhinav (Bindra), sir. He is an Olympic gold medallist,” she said.
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