Saina
Nehwal (March
17, 1990) is an Indian badminton player currently ranked 5 in the world by Badminton World Federation.
Saina is the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton
at the Olympics.
Saina Nehwal was born in a family to
Dr Harvir singh Nehwal and Usha Nehwal in the city of Hisar, Haryana and completed first few years of her
schooling from Campus School. Harvir singh initially worked in CCS HAU and they
then had their residence in the University Campus. He later shifted to Hyderabad and so Saina
spent her growing years in Hyderabad, India. Her foray into
the world of badminton was influenced by her father Dr. Harvir
Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad and her
mother Usha Nehwal, both of
whom were former badminton champions in Haryana.
She was spotted by PSS Nani Prasad Rao, badminton coach of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, at the age of 8 and he convinced her father to allow her to pursue a career in badminton. And Mr.Harvir Singh backed his daughter's dreams.
Saina
first caught India's attention in 2006, when she became the first Indian to win
the Philippines Open despite going into the tournament as the 84th seed. Many
top-seeded players lay vanquished in her wake as she announced her arrival on
the international scene.
In 2008, she became the first Indian woman to make it to the quarterfinal of the Olympics in the singles event. That was the 29th edition of the Games in Beijing.
She also made it to the World Super Series semi-final in December 2008.
She made history in 2009 when she won the Indonesian Open, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament. She repeated that feat in 2010. She also won a gold medal in the woman's singles event at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, which helped India finish No. 2 in the medals tally.
She is being currently coached by Indonesian champion Atik Jauhari while All England Champion Pullela Gopichand is her mentor. She was previously coached by Dronacharya Award winner S M Arif.
Saina has been honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2009 and Indian Khel Ratna in 2010.
In 2008, she became the first Indian woman to make it to the quarterfinal of the Olympics in the singles event. That was the 29th edition of the Games in Beijing.
She also made it to the World Super Series semi-final in December 2008.
She made history in 2009 when she won the Indonesian Open, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament. She repeated that feat in 2010. She also won a gold medal in the woman's singles event at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, which helped India finish No. 2 in the medals tally.
She is being currently coached by Indonesian champion Atik Jauhari while All England Champion Pullela Gopichand is her mentor. She was previously coached by Dronacharya Award winner S M Arif.
Saina has been honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2009 and Indian Khel Ratna in 2010.
Below are couple of Videos on Saina Nehwal :
Hope Saina will become world number one player in couple of
years .. All the best Saina..
