It is a dream come true for me: Saina

New Delhi: Moments after pulling off the biggest title victory of her career, Saina Nehwal said the trumph at the Indonesian Super Series was a "dream come true" but she never expected it to come at such an early age.

World number eight Saina beat number third ranked Chinese Lin Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9 in a 49-minute hard-fought summit showdown in Jakarta.

"It is a dream come true for me, it couldn't have been better. I am elated, excited and shocked as well. I always wanted to win a Super series but I have never thought I will win it at such an early age," she said.

"I was playing well all these months but losing close matches against top ranked players so it was a litte difficult to believe that I have actually won. It took time for the realisation to sink in," she said from Jakarta.

In the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, Saina put in umpteen hours as part of her strict daily training regime and the 20-year-old player says she is happy that her hard work has finally paid off.

"I have always believed in working hard and have given my everything in training and during the matches and so I feel extremely happy and proud of my achievement," she said.

The Hyderabadi girl, who won the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold tournament in September last year, ranked the Indonesian Open title win as her best ever performance till date.

"It has to be my best win because I have defeated two Chinese players in this tournament. There was Lan Lu, whom I defeated in straight games and then here today against Wang, I rallied well and beat her under 10 points in the third game," Saina said.

Saina thanked her Indonesian coach Atik Jauhari for devising a proper strategy for her so that she could win over Wang.

"The Indonesian supporters have been very supportive and I am thankful to coach, who gave me a very good plan as how to go about my match. The plan fell perfectly in place as she was under pressure," she said.

Saina is now eyeing the World Championship and a place in the top five.

"I want to break into the top five now but my first priority is the World Championship in Hyderabad in August. I want to work harder and perform better with each match," she said.

Saina will next feature in the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold tournament starting from June 23.

Pullela Gopichand said, "The way she has played through out the tournament, it reflects the hard work she has put up in all these years.

"It will give her a lot of confidence and help her perform even better in the World Championship and also give impetus to India's preparation of the important tournament in Hyderabad in August," he added.


Reflecting on the match, Gopichand said, "She played aggressive badminton and grabbed her chances and also played better in the nets today. She has been very patient."

"Saina always likes players whom she has played against before, it is very typical of her and since she had played her last week, she was very comfortable with Wang," he added.

Gopichand further said that it was important to have patience and give her time so that she can come up with some stunning performances.

"Many people ask why she is not winning enough tournaments. We have to realise that she is just 19 years old. We need to give her time to go ahead", Gopichand said.

"The greatest quality of Saina is that every time she takes the courts, she makes sure of giving her 100 per cent," he said.

Saina's father Harvir Singh said he really felt very proud with her daughter's achievement.

"My happiness knows no bounds. She has not only made me proud but by her feat she has also made India proud. I feel this win will boost her morale and she will put more hard work to her game to bring more laurels for the country," he said.

Saina breaches Chinese citadel in title win, enters big league

Jakarta: Ace woman shuttler Saina Nehwal scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after she clinched the Indonesian Open title with a stunning victory over higher ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta.

Saina clinched her maiden Super Series title beating Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller that lasted 49 minutes.

Her triumph is the best ever performance by any Indian woman and at par with All England Championship titles won by Prakash Padukone and her current coach Pullela Gopichand.

In the thrilling final, world number eight Saina came from behind to outsmart world number three Wang and avenge her last week's Singapore Open Super Series loss to the same rival.

Saina took time to get into the groove as she struggled to gauge the gameplan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a 4-9 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play o pocket the first game as Saina was left to do the catchup act.

But the Indian ace rallied her way back in the second game. Saina levelled the score at 5-5 and then moved together with her Chinese rival till 17-17 before surging ahead to pocket the second game 21-18.

In the decider, Saina was in her attacking best besides displaying better nerves in crucial moments.

After moving neck and neck till 7-7, Saina went berserk by engaging her rival in soft dribble and net play to widen the gap at 15-9 before reeling off six straight points to seal her place in history.

Hailing Saina's victory as an important milestone in Indian badminton, Badminton Association of India announced a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh as a recognition of her feat.

"It is a big moment in Indian badminton. We are proud of her achievement. We are announcing a cash reward of Rs two lakhs as an acknowledgment of Saina's hard work and achievement," BAI president V K Verma said.

"It is a moment to cherish for Indian sports. Saina has put up a lot of hard work but I will also want to thank the Sports Ministry for their support and financial help," he added.

I was not banned for match-fixing: Maurice Odumbe

NEW DELHI: Five summers ago he was pronounced guilty of match-fixing but former Kenya skipper Maurice Odumbe claims he suffered just because he knew
someone who happened to be a bookie.

The all-rounder, who completes his five year ban this August, blames the ICC for mishandling his case and destroying his career.

"I was accused of knowing somebody, not of match fixing. The world never heard my story. I was not given a chance to prove my innocence. They had to prove me guilty and they did that," Odumbe told PTI.

The 39-year-old said his ex-girl friends were used to testify against him but not any cricketer and was given the harsh punishment.

"I was accused of knowing the wrong person in inappropriate context. Moreover, they brought my ex-girl friends to testify against me, and no cricketer testified against me.

"My verdict was read out at night, most of the witnesses were my ex-girl friends. If you look at other cases like Marlon Samuels, Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje, they all escaped with much lesser punishment but I was banned for five year. Why? I'm disappointed. It hurts," he said.

"They destroyed my life and then they tried to extort money from me. It is at this time I got in touch with FICA Chief Tim May and I asked him what else do they want from me. They did what they wanted and now they want $10,000 from me. What I have done to deserve all this," Odumbe said.

Odumbe, who turns 40 this month, said he wants to play the 2011 World Cup for his country before hanging up his boots.

"When I started playing cricket, no one told me when to start and no one can tell me when to stop, so I would like to play for my country. I have faith on my ability and I have been keeping fit myself. Aging is all in the mind and I would like to play the next world cup," said Odumbe, who signed a MOU with Deeksha Sports Management to reproduce the module and expertise of the firm in Kenya.

With the sagging status of Kenyan cricket, Odumbe felt if Kenya can be accommodated into the Champions league in place of Pakistan, it might help revive the game in the African country.

"I think Kenyan cricketers should have been there (Champions league), may not be as Kenyan team but as Nairobi team. It could have been a boost to our cricket, we could have regained what we have lost," he said.

Saina sounds cautious before the Singapore Open

New Delhi: She might be in red-hot form after her successful stint in the Sudirman Cup but ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is not setting any goal for the upcoming south-east Asia tour, starting with the USD 200,000 Singapore Open Super Series from June 9-14.

The 20-year-old Hyderabadi, who won all her matches during the Sudirman Cup in China last month, will play three super series tournament -- Singapore Open, Indonesian Open and Malaysian Open -- as a part of the tour this month.

However, the world number seven, sounded cautious and said she would look to gain some confidence from the tournaments before the much-important World badminton Champion in August in Hyderabad.

"I have set no goals, I am not thinking about making the quarterfinals or semifinals. I just want to go there and play and win some good matches and get my confidence going before the world championship," Saina said.

Seeded sixth, Saina has a relatively easier draw in the Singapore Open as she takes on a qualifier in the opener but the world number 7 feels her opponent would be in an advantageous position.

"I am playing a qualifier in the opener but I wouldn't take her lightly. She would be in an advantageous position because she would be knowing the conditions well after playing in the qualifying rounds, So it would be tough," Saina said.

If Saina gets past the qualifier, Saina will likely lock horns with Indonesian world number 19 Andrianti Firdasari in the second round.

"I have played her twice and it has been 1-1 so far and I know it would be another tough match but I am confident."

Saina, who injured her shoulder early this year, said she was feeling fitter than ever and hopes to be in her best shape during the Singapore open.

"During the Indian Open in March, I was a little worried about the shoulder, it was about 70 per cent okay but now it has healed by 90-95 per cent and I feel no pain at all. I am in my best shape now," she said.

World number 35 Indian Aditi Mutatkar will meet Judith Meulendijks of Netherland in her women's singles opening tie.

Among other Indians in fray, World number 12 Chetan Anand will cross sword with World number 23 Malaysian Choong Hann Wong in the opening tie.

However, Arvind Bhat will have a tough task in hand as he opens his campaign against third seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia.

In the qualifying round, Anup Sridhar will clash with Canadian Stefan Wojcikiewicz, while Anand Pawar will fight it out with Muhammad Roslin Hashim of Malaysia.

In mixed doubles, India's best pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta will take on six seeded pair of Zhongbo Xie and Yawen Zhang of China in their opener.

Bhavsar wants to coach Indians

NEW DELHI, 2 JUNE: The dormant state of Indian gymnastics notwithstanding, the country has no dearth of talent, says Indian-American Olympic bronze medallist Raj Bhavsar (in photo), who wants to coach gymnasts here. “I would like to coach the Indian gymnastics team if given a chance,” Bhavsar said. “I have come with an open mind to give back whatever I have achieved. It hasn't been easy for me to win the bronze and I would like to share my experience with the guys and help them with technical details involving the sport.
“There is a structure, there are some good gym training centres coming up too in India and the government is also backing them with adequate fund programmes, there is no dearth of talent either.
“What they need is just a spark through some good performance at the highest level to catapult them to success and I would like to help them in attaining that through interactive sessions,” said Bhavsar, who was part of the American team that won a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics.
An artistic gymnast with roots in Gujarat, Bhavsar feels Indian gymnastics needs greater public awareness, which can come through live entertainment shows.
“There is lack of public awareness of the sport in India. If we can promote it through live entertainment shows with the help of music and acrobatics, I think it would draw the attention of young kids and they would take up the sport,” Bhavsar said. “In America, we have limelight and media and gymnastics is a highly watched sport which brings a lot of money from the private sector, unlike India. “Some of my business associates are also interested in organising such gymnastic shows to create awareness and showcase the sport to the Indian public,” he added. A member of the 2001 and 2003 world champion American team, Bhavsar said he met the Gymnastics Federation of India and the Commonwealth Games organising committee today to discuss if he could have a role in India's preparation for 2010 Commonwealth Games.
“I met with the officials and we discussed various options through which I can contribute to the Indian team's preparation for the Commonwealth Games. There were discussion about my role as a technical consultant. The response were positive but nothing has been finalised as yet,” he said. Bhavsar will also visit the gymnastics facility in Allahabad tomorrow.

Finance a concern for World Badminton but we are optimistic: Verma

New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) The global economic downturn has hit the preparations of World Championship but Badminton Association of India President V K Verma says he is optimistic of roping in enough sponsors to tide over the financial crisis and make the event a grand success.


"Financial resources are a major concern because the projected expenditure for the event is about six crore, including three crore that needs to paid to the Badminton World Federation as the sanction money. As of now we have managed half the money and efforts are on to get the rest," said Verma.

"We are doing the marketing, we have prepared the project report of the World Championship and sent it to the various sponsors. But the market is so negative at the moment because of recession, that the response is slow but we hope to raise some more money," he added.

Verma, who has been appointed vice-president of the BWF recently, said there would be stringent security arrangements for the event and Australian security experts would be present throughout the event scheduled from August 10 to 16 in Hyderabad.

"A security team from Australia is coming to Hyderabad from June 1-5 to do an extensive survey and would be meeting the police commissioner and minister in-charge for security in Hyderabad.

"They would give us a blue print for the different levels of security that needs to be implemented. They would be working along with the organising committee and security experts from Intelligence Risk (a security agency) would be there throughout the tournament," Verma said.

Verma said it would be wishful thinking to hope India would win the event but nevertheless he wants the country's shuttlers to at least make the quarterfinal and semifinal of the tournament.

"We would be happy with Saina (Nehwal) reaching the semi-finals and Chetan Anand entering the quarterfinals and one doubles pair reaching the quarters or prequarters, that should be good," he said.
Verma also said that efforts are on to send a senior team of six to nine shuttlers for specialised training in Indonesia, prior to the tournament in July.
"We have sent a proposal to the Badminton Association of Indonesia to provide training to six to eight top Indian shuttlers, like Saina, Chetan (Anand) in July this year. The team will mainly have doubles players like Rupesh-Thomas and Jwala-Diju," he said.