Hyderabad: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will promote Indian Premier League side Deccan Chargers after she was on Saturday made brand ambassador of the media group which owns the team.
The 20-year-old Hyderabadi signed a three-year deal with Deccan Chronicle at a glittering function here.
"After cricket it is badminton that has landed such a big brand and It is a dream from me. It gives me a lot of encouragement and motivates me further to go and try to win the World Championship for my country," Saina said after signing the contract.
Asked what she thought of a badminton star endorsing cricket for the first time, Saina said, "It is good for the game. It shows that finally badminton has come of age and we are being recognised for our efforts."
"A lot of time many players go through financial crisis and if efforts like this are made, I feel more players can play freely and be motivated to play better," she added.
Saina said although she doesn't follow cricket much but Sachin Tendulkar remains her favourite and among the Deccan Chargers, it is captain of the side Adam Gilchrist.
Saina's coach Pullela Gopichand, who was also present on the occasion, said it was a good development for Indian badminton.
"We have a long association with Deccan chargers and so when this proposal came across, we thought it was a great opportunity for Saina. She has a busy schedule so maybe she won't be able to be there all the time but when she has time, she will promote the team," Gopichand said.
Deccan Chronicle also ventured into sports personality management by signing Saina.
Saina was also handed the first premier membership card for the Deccan Chargers, which was announced here.
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Rupesh-Sanave look to WBC to compensate for Olympic miss
Hyderabad: They missed out of the chance to compete in Beijing Olympics and Indian men’s doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas say they want to compensate for it by doing well in the the World Championships and winning a medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Winner of New Zealand Open Grand Prix and runners-up at Australian Open, Rupesh and Thomas are brimming with confidence and they reckon if they play to their potential and without any pressure they can do well in the Championships.
“The recent results gave us lot of confidence. We played a Malaysian and an Indonesian pair and I hope our good form continues into the world championship. We have a tough draw, as we have to take on world number 12 Japanese pair in our first match,” Thomas told reporters.
“We missed out of a chance to play in Beijing Olympics as we couldn’t improve our ranking as we were not participating in enough tournaments then unlike now. But we have 2010 Commonwealth Games and our aim is to win a medal there.”
“Earlier, there was not enough exposure for the doubles team but things have changed now. There has been more exposure now even junior players are also being sent for tournaments outside with the 2010 Commonwealth Games round the corner. We have now specialised Indonesian coaches,” he added.
The top seeds in men’s doubles, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan, of Indonesia had withdrawn from the Championships, which might seem to make things easier but that doesn’t bother Thomas.
“Even though the top players pulled out, it doesn’t matter because all are playing very good and to reach pre-quarters we have to first beat the Japanese pair and then the Koreans to whom we had lost earlier,” he said.
“Even against the top seeds we were confident as we have met them twice in Doha Asian Games and lost very close games.”
Sanave-Rupesh combine had a successful 2008, with a title win at the Czech International, a final at the Dutch Open, and a semifinal at the Bulgarian Grand Prix and they don’t want to buckle under pressure here.
“We are playing in India. There would be pressure because there would be people, media, all behind us but if we play with confidence and without tension we can fair well,” Thomas said.
He said the decision to participate in New Zealand and Australian Open just before the World Championships was their own and it really paid off.
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