The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Saina makes it to Olympics

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Saina makes it to Olympics

V.V. Subrahmanyam

‘She dared to dream and cared to achieve’

Saina first spotted by SAAP coach in a summer camp in 1999
Her current stint under the chief national coach Pullela Gopi Chand

-Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

Rising star: Badminton player Saina Nehawal.

HYDERABAD: It’s time for Saina and not Sania to hog the limelight.

For a change, it is Saina Nehawal who is the toast of sports fraternity being the first woman athlete from the State to qualify for the Beijing Olympics this August.It’s a dream come true for the Hyderabad shuttler, who is an officer in BPCL. It was apparent that she achieved what most of the sportspersons end up only dreaming. As they say, she “dared to dream and cared to achieve”.

A truly memorable journey from the dusty ambience of Fateh Maidan Indoor Stadium where she was first spotted by SAAP consolidated coach Goverdhan Reddy in 1999 during a summer camp. She is perhaps destined to achieve something big for she started winning almost everything at stake in the age group tournaments and made a huge impact in the seniors category too.

By all means, this 18-year-old national champion stands apart from the rest of the crowd by the virtue of commitment and sincerity to the sport.

She is grateful to her parents – Harvir Singh and Usha Rani – for their all-out support from the start.

Biggest achievement

Thanks to the efforts of Dronacharya S. M. Arif in the initial stages and now to her on-going stint under the chief national coach Pullela Gopi Chand, Saina is fast becoming a major contender in the world of badminton. This World No. 30 is apparently delighted at her latest feat. “It is an honour to play in Olympics. I deem it as the biggest achievement of my career. A dream which I always chased ever since I started playing,” says Saina.

“Since Olympics also features the mandatory Continental quota unlike the star events of WBF, the Indians might even end up with a medal if they come up against weak players in the preliminary rounds and score one or two wins against the big names,” analyses Gopi, and he is already planning a special two-week training stint in Indonesia to ensure his best bet in the women’s section comes up with a special performance.

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