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Saina Nehwal and P.V Sindhu are the two gems of Indian badminton, one is the Olympic bronze medalist and other is the two-time World Championships bronze medalist. One is the badminton queen of India, other is the Indian teenage badminton sensation.
Technically, Saina is stronger and faster. She moves around the court like a hawk, waiting to attack at the right moment. Sindhu is much more contained, she is calculative and is more tactical, relying on her reach rather than power.
Saina Nehwal, who is currently the World No. 6 is undoubtedly the more experienced and a better player than P.V Sindhu, whose ranking is 10, but let’s compare the performance of both the players statistically.
Comparing their performances in 2014
Saina Nehwal
Number of tournaments played- 12(excluding Asian Games)
Win-loss record- 30-9
No. of tournaments in which Saina lost in the first round- 1
No. of tournaments in which Saina lost in the second round- 1
No. of tournaments in which Saina lost in the quarters- 7
Tournaments won- The Star Australian Open Superseries(June), Indian Grand Prix Gold(January)
It’s important to note that out of nine defeats which Saina has faced this year, eight are against the Chinese players. Saina is not in the best form when it comes to taking on the top Chinese players. She had a win-loss record of 2-8 against World No. 1 Li Xuerui and 1-8 against World No. 3 Wang Yihan.
So if Saina wants to become the best in the world, then she needs to beat the best in the world.
P.V Sindhu
Number of tournaments played- 13(excluding CWG and Asian Games)
Win-loss record- 25- 12
No. of tournaments in which Sindhu lost in the first round- 4
No. of tournaments in which Sindhu lost in the second round- 1
No. of tournaments in which Sindhu lost in the quarters- 3
No. of tournaments in which Sindhu lost in the semis- 3
No. of tournaments in which Sindhu lost in the finals- 1
Tournaments won- none
(Both Saina and Sindhu were undefeated in the 2014 Uber Cup)
So from the above stats, it is clear that Sindhu lacks consistency. But she is just 19, so we can expect that Sindhu will become a lot more consistent, aggressive and confident in her game in the coming years.
Saina Nehwal ’s Win-Loss record against Top 5 ranked players (Data till the French Open)
Against the World No.1 Chinese shuttler Li Xuerui: 2 – 8
Against the World No.2 Chinese shuttler Wang Shixian: 5 – 5
Against the World No.3 Chinese shuttler Wang Yihan: 1 – 8
Against the World No.4 Korean shuttler Ji Hyun Sung: 4 – 1
Against the World No.5 Korean shuttler Bae Yeon Ju: 6 – 4
P.V Sindhu’s Win-Loss record against Top 5 ranked players (Data till the French Open)
Against the World No.1 Chinese shuttler Li Xuerui: 1 – 1
Against the World No.2 Chinese shuttler Wang Shixian: 4 – 2
Against the World No.3 Chinese shuttler Wang Yihan: 1 - 3
Against the World No.4 Korean shuttler Ji Hyun Sung: 3 – 1
Against the World No.5 Korean shuttler Bae Yeon Ju: 1 – 2
Sindhu’s record against the top 5 shuttlers of the world is pretty decent. If she can maintain the consistency, then she can surely become India’s as well as world’s best badminton player in the coming years.
Saina Nehwal’s performance in major tournaments since 2012 London Olympics
No. of Superseries Premier tournaments played - 9
No. of Superseries Premier tournaments won- 1 (Yonex Denmark Open in October 2012)
No. of Superseries tournaments played- 12
No. of Superseries tournaments won- 1(Australian Open Superseries in June 2014)
No. of Grand Prix Gold tournaments played-5
No. of Grand Prix Gold Tournaments won- 1(India Grand Prix Gold in January 2014)
No. of World Championships played – 2
No. of World Championships won - none
No. of BWF World Superseries finals played - 2
No. of BWF World Superseries finals won- none
P.V Sindhu’s performance in major tournaments since 2012 London Olympics
No. of Superseries Premier tournaments played- 7
No. of Superseries Premier tournaments won- none
No. of Superseries tournaments played- 13
No. of Superseries tournaments won- none
No. of Grand Prix Gold tournaments played- 4
No. of Grand Prix Gold Tournaments won- 2(Macau Open in December 2013 and Malaysia Open in May 2013)
No. of World Championships played- 2 (won 2 bronze medals in 2013 and 2014)
No. of Badminton Asia Championships played- 2
No. of Badminton Asia Championships won- none
