Published>Tue, Mar 16 10 03:09 PM
Saina Nehwal is having a tough time. No we are not talking about her opponents, but her cellphone.
Ever since she made it to the semifinals of the All England Badminton Championships, she has been flooded with calls from well-wishers and admirers. So much so that despite taking a temporary UK mobile connection, there was little respite for the Indian ace.
"I do not know how to handle all this. I am a sportsperson and know how to handle the pressure while playing matches," the Hyedrabadi told MAIL TODAY . But then her achievements at the National Indoor Stadium in Birmingham last week have become part of sporting folklore, for she scaled a height no other Indian female shuttler has reached - the semi-finals of the Holy Grail of badminton.
The enormity of the achievement is yet to sink in.
"Yes it is almost two days now and I still find it hard to believe that I made it to the semi-finals of the world?s premier event and that too in its centenary year." For the first time, her father Harvir has accompanied her to a tournament.
"For the first time in my life, my father accompanied me. Before the tournament began, he asked me whether he could come with me."
"He has rarely accompanied me on an international tournament.
So I was a bit surprised when he asked whether I could accompany him to the All England." Saina feels she is reaping the benefits of the hard work she has put in.
"I guess all the hard work which I put in towards the end of last year has begun to pay dividends." She also said that her excellent run in the Uber Cup Asia qualifiers had given her a boost ahead of the All England.
Saina lost just once in the whole tournament after scalping World No. 3 Zhou Mi in the tie against Hong Kong.
"Yes, I think the good form I showed in the Uber Cup qualifiers did help me a lot in these championships. I lost just one out of the seven matches I played there. It is always good to come into a major tournament after winning some matches. Fortunately, I had a good run at the Uber Cup which lifted my game in Birmingham," she said.
However, Saina felt that she had her chances in the semifinal against Tine Rassmussen. "I had my fair share of chances in the opening game. I was leading 9- 6, 15- 13 when she made me play more at the net. That was the mistake I made. I should have made her play more at the baseline," she said.
Tine succeeded in engaging her in short dribbles at the net. "Tine is one of the best players in the world at the net. I should not have got into the trap of playing at the net. But next time we play, I will come up with something different," she said.
OUT OF SWISS OPEN
Saina has pulled out of the Swiss Super Series badminton championships, which gets underway in Basel on Wednesday. "After consulting my coach Pullela Gopi Chand, I have decided to pull out of these championships . I have been playing non- stop for the last three weeks."
"So he told me to take a small break before playing the Asian Championship in Delhi in April," she said.
saji.chacko@mailtoday.in
Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. MTNPL. All rights reserved.
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