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Saina Nehwal has had a terrific career so far. She started off as a teenage sensation who showed tremendous potential with her ability to stay calm under pressure and compete at the highest level.Let us look at some of her best performances.
#10 Philiippines (2006)
Ranked 86th in the world at that point in time, Saina Nehwal shocked the entire nation by becoming the first Indian woman to win a four-star badminton tournament and the age of 16. This win was so very special for Saina because she defeated the top seed and World No. 4 Xu Huaiwen of Germany in the quarter-finals .
16-year old, unseeded Indian then shocked the seventh seed and world no. 66 Pei Xian Julia Wong of Malaysia 21-15, 22-20 in a thrilling final. With this victory, Saina Nehwal announced her arrival on the international scene.
She was the runner-up at the 2006 BWF World Junior Championships, where she lost against the top seed and current World No. 3 Chinese ace shuttler Wang Yihan.
#9 World Junior Championships (2008)
Top seed in the tournament Saina Nehwal became the first Indian player to clinch the World Junior Badminton Championship title after defeating 9th seeded Japanese player Sayaka Sato 21-9 21-18 in the final.
Saina, who came into the tournament after defeating World No. 5 Wang Chen of Hong Kong in the pre-quarterfinals of 2008 Beijing Olympics was also named as the “most promising player of 2008”.
#8 Indonesia Open (2009)
On 21 June 2009, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title after defeating the then World No. 3 Wang Lin of China 12–21, 21–18, 21–9 in the final.
Saina Nehwal was conferred with the Arjuna Award in the same year.
#7 Indonesia Open (2010)
Saina Nehwal successfully defended her Indonesian Superseries title after defeating Japanese shuttler Sayaka Sato 21-19, 13–21, 21–11 in the final. This was the third Superseries title of her career.
This year was also marked as one of her best years as she reached a career high World ranking of 2 in December 2010.
In the same year Saina Nehwal also won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports.
#6 Commonwealth Games (2010)
Top seed in the tournament Saina Nehwal won the gold medal at the Women's Singles event at 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games (CWG).
This win was very special for the star Indian shuttler as she came back from a match point down to defeat the then World No. 19 Wong Mew Choo, who is the wife of Malaysian Badminton star and current World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei.
After her win Saina said, "When I was a match-point down, it was like a shock. It was a big match and winning it means a lot to me. Even many years from now, those present here will always remember how Saina won the gold. It is a proud feeling".
#5 Swiss Open (2011)
Saina’s start to the year 2011 was not a good one as she lost in the 2nd round of Korea Open Superseries and then crashed out in the quarterfinals of Yonex All England Open.
Saina then made a stunning comeback as she won the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold after thrashing Korea’s Ji Hyun Sung 21–13, 21–14 in the final.
Saina also finished as the runner-up in the 2011 BWF World Superseries finals after losing to World No. 1 Wang Yihan 21–18, 13–21, 13–21 in the final.
#4 Indonesia Open (2012)
On 17 June 2012, Saina Nehwal won the Indonesia Open Super Series title for the third time after defeating World No. 3 Li Xuerui of China 13–21, 22–20, 21–19 .
Saina Nehwal, who was two match points down in the second game registered a remarkable victory against her opponent, who was undefeated prior to this match in 2012.
In the same tournament, Saina Nehwal played her career's longest match (one hour and 36 minutes) getting past the current World no. 2 Wang Shixian in the quarters.
#3 London Olympics (2012)
On 4th August 2012, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian badminton player to win a medal at the Olympic Games after China's Xin Wang retired hurt from the bronze medal play-off match.
Saina, who reached the quarter-finals of the Beijing Olympics four years ago lost to the Chinese player Wang Yihan in the semifinals.
"When I was standing on podium, I started crying. I thought of all the hard work I have put in all these years. It gave me inspiration. It's just the beginning and I will win many more medals," said Saina after the historic moment.
#2 Denmark Open (2012)
On 21st October 2012, Saina won the Denmark Open Super Series Premier title after defeating local girl and World No. 6 Tine Baun in the finals.
This win was very special to Saina as she defeated Wang Yihan of China for the first time in her career after losing 6 times in a row in the semifinals of the tournament.
This was Saina’s second Premier title of the year and 6th Super Series Title of her career, and her first in Europe.
#1 Australian Open Super Series (2014)
Saina Nehwal created the history after winning the Australian Open Superseries title. This was Saina’s first major title after 20 months. This win was so very special to Saina because she became the first non-Chinese player to win a women’s singles Superseries title in 2014.
The $750,000 tournament in Australia was the eighth Super Series tournament this year. The previous seven have all been taken by the top Chinese shuttlers.
