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Flying the flag: Nehwal has, and continues to do India proud on the world stageSaina Nehwal has been the shining beacon of Indian badminton for nearly a decade now. Right from her junior days, the Hyderabad girl had been showing glimpses of her abundant talent and it is thus, no wonder that her rise in the badminton world has been phenomenal.A permanent member of the world’s elite for some time now, Nehwal moved out of the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy to join forces with Vimal Kumar in Bangalore last year. But her dedication, hunger and competitive spirit still remain the same as Nehwal continues to bring in more accolades.Here’s a look at five moments from Saina Nehwal’s career when she made Indians proud:
#1 Junior World Champion in 2008
One of the biggest proofs of Saina Nehwal’s precocious talent was when she lifted the crown at the 2008 World Junior Badminton Championships at home in Pune. The then-18-year-old Saina was the top seed at this event and she put up a brilliant show of her unwavering determination as she did not lose even a single game throughout the tournament.
One of her victims at this event was the future World No. 1 Shixian Wang who would go on to become one of Saina’s long-time nemeses.
In the final, Nehwal beat Sayaka Sato of Japan, 21-9, 21-18, thus etching her name in record books as the first Indian ever to reign supreme at the World Junior Badminton Championships.
#2 First Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton
Every sportsperson dreams of winning an Olympic medal and for Saina Nehwal, the dream came true on August 4, 2012 when she captured the women’s singles bronze at the London Games. The medal came under fortuitous circumstances, though, with her World No. 2 opponent Xin Wang retiring at 21-18, 1-0 because of a knee injury during the bronze medal play-off.
With this, she embellished her resume further by becoming the first Indian to grab an Olympic badminton medal. Not only that, it also made her just the second Indian woman after Karnam Malleswari to have a prized Olympic medal.
“I have always wanted an Olympic medal. I always wanted to see India’s national flag going up at the podium,” said the shuttle queen afterwards.
She certainly ensured that the Tricolour went up at the Olympics because of her and with that, made billions of Indians proud all over the world.
#3 Reaching World No. 1 ranking in 2015
It was Saina Nehwal who ended the hegemony of the Chinese shuttlers over the World No. 1 ranking as she ascended to the pinnacle for the first time on April 2, 2015. The Hyderabadi became the first non-Chinese player to claim the numero uno spot since Tine Baun of Denmark held the coveted ranking in 2010.
Thus, she emulated the incredible feat of Indian legend Prakash Padukone who was the only Indian to be ranked No. 1 before her and in the process, Nehwal became the first Indian woman shuttler to rise to the top.
Can there be any better place to achieve this than at home? Her accomplishment became all the more sweet as this historic moment came right in front of her adoring fans at the India Open Superseries which she went on to win for the first time.
#4 Reaching the All-England Open final in 2015
Saina Nehwal added another feather to her cap when she became the first Indian woman to reach the final of the world’s oldest badminton tournament – the All England Open.
In its 105-year history, there had been just two Indians who captured the title and both of them were men – Prakash Padukone in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001.
Nehwal underlined the growth of Indian women in badminton by making it to the final. It was an inspiring run from the-then 24-year-old who showed tremendous courage and willpower. That even helped her secure just her second victory over her long-time tormentor, Wang Yihan in 11 meetings, when she upended the Chinese ace in the quarter-finals.
Nehwal, however, went down in the final to the world champion Carolina Marin even after taking a one-game lead. Being the fast learner that she is, the India No. 1 will surely learn from her mistakes and try to reverse the result in the future.
#5 World Championships silver in 2015
2015 continued to be a banner year for Nehwal, who added more firsts to her illustrious resume. At the World Championships held in Jakarta, Indonesia, the 25-year-old grabbed the silver, thus producing India’s best-ever performance at this prestigious global event. Previously, India had won four bronze medals through Prakash Padukone (1983), Jwala Gutta/Ashwini Ponnappa (2011) and PV Sindhu (2013 and 2014).
Powered by improved fitness and her own self-belief, the Vimal Kumar-mentored shuttler stormed through to the final for the first time, bettering her five previous quarter-final appearances.
The fact that she booked her place in the summit clash on the Indian Independence Day made it a proud moment for all Indians watching and supporting her. Nehwal may have succumbed to the defending champion Carolina Marin but she will surely get more chances to go one better.
