No air-conditioners during World Championships: Verma

NEW DELHI: The air-conditioners, which had been a cause of concern for shuttlers at the Indian Open, would be shut down during the World Badminton Ch
ampionships so that the drift does not affect players, assured BAI chief VK Verma.

The drift from the ACs at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad had made life hard for shuttlers during the Indian Open, many of whom complained they were finding it difficult to control the shuttle.

The BAI thus decided to keep them shut during the World Championships in August and to negate the heat factor, the Gachibowli stadium would be pre-cooled before matches.

"We intend to pre-cool the stadium and have matches for 2-3 hours without the air-conditioners following which there will be another break during which the venue will be once again pre-cooled. There won't be an AC during the matches," Verma said.

The decision evoked mixed reactions from the shuttlers, with Indian world number seven Saina Nehwal saying it was a good idea.

"The shuttles were very fast in the Indian Open. Nowadays the courts are becoming slower but in Hyderabad it was very fast and it was difficult to control the shuttle," Saina said.

"But I think it is a good idea to pre-cool the stadium, it will help the shuttlers," she added.

Aravind Bhat, who will also represent India in the World Championships, sounded apprehensive.

"It would be difficult to do that considering matches would be going in five courts and after every 2-3 hours they can't ask players to stop playing and it might very well affect their game. But if they can manage to do that it would solve the problem," said Bhat.

Many players, including Chetan Anand had a torrid time during the Indian Open in March this year, when they failed to control the shuttle which moved abruptly because of the drift from two air-conditioners which were used during the matches.

Chetan, though, felt if Indian shuttlers could get a week's training with the ACs in full blast, it would help them acclimatise with the drift prior to the big event.

"In all events there are air-conditioners but then it is a one-way drift, during Indian Open there was a two-way drift and it became difficult to control the shuttle. This time during the World Championship if there can be a one-week training prior to the tournament, it will help shuttlers to acclimatise better," Chetan said.

When asked about BAI's plan to shut the ACs during matches, Chetan said, "It is a good idea as long as the heat doesn't affect the foreign players because switching off the ACs during matches will generate a lot of heat in the stadium.

"But I feel there's nothing wrong in experimenting as long as the stadium is cool and comfortable."

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.

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.

Smashing Saina gives a fillip to Indian badminton in 2008

From being just another promising young women shuttler to breaking into the world's top 10, the year gone by has seen the metamorphosis of Saina Nehwal into a sensation, whose exploits saw India rising up the world badminton chart.
Riding on her success story, Indian badminton enjoyed a
steep-rising curve over the past few seasons to leave its mark
on the sporting canvass, which saw some of the greatest battle
of grit, patience and ability en route to some spectular titles wins which made the world to stand up and take notice.
Keeping pace with her dreams, Saina had made her intent
clear at the start of the year when she became the first Indian girl to enter a Super Series semi-final in Singapore Open before losing to Mi Zhou of Hong Kong. She also made it to the last eight of the Thailand open.
With a new found optimism, the 18-year-old then sizzled at the Beijing Games, stunning world number five and fourth seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in a three-game thriller to become the first Indian woman to reach the quarter finals of the Olympics.
The little Hyderabadi teen soon attained the tag of a 'giant killer' as she galloped her way to an impressive win in the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open, beating Li Ya Lydia Cheah of Malaysia 21-8 21-19 in September.
The National champion also clinched the Youth Commonwealth Games and World Junior Championship titles and was adjudged the most promising player of the year by the Badminton World Federation soon after she broke into the elite bracket of top 10 players.
With the year nearing end, another opportunity came her way when she qualified for the prestigious World Super Series Masters final in Malaysia after two of the Chinese pulled out at the last moment.
However, her fate took a threatening turn when her viza got entangled in a bureaucratic quagmire. But a timely intervention of the Ministry of External Affairs saw her get the Viza on time as Saina emerged as the only Indian to reach the semifinal of the prestigious event, defeating two top level player on a single day.
The Hyderabadi teen defeated World number seven Hongyan Pi of France and world number 11 Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia in the round-robin league before going down to world number six chen Wang in the final four.
Among the men, this year saw the resurgence of Chetan Anand into the forefront once again. The 28-old-year shuttler rose like a phoenix, first winning the national champion for the third time on the trot and then romping home with the Kenya International open, Spanish Open in Madrid and Nepal Open in June.
He then reached the peak of his form, claiming the Bitburger and Czech International titles as his ranking shoot to World number 15. The Arjuna awardee also made it to the finals of Indian Open, Belgium Open and Dubai Open.
While Chetan weaved a web across his opponents in the singles, his wife and national champion Jwala Gutta kept the flag fluttering in the doubles events.
Combining with Shruti Kurian, the Hyderabadi less romped home with two titles, Nepal International Series and KLRC Bulgaria Open Grand Prix, while reaching the semi-finals of the Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix in October.
It was a year of resurgence for the seven-time national doubles champion, who had to go through a bureaucratic hegemony last year along with her husband Chetan as critics started writing their obituary. However, a gritty Jwala shrugged off all criticism and galloped her way to three more titles with partner D Viju in the mixed doubles category.
The world number 38 duo won the Nepal International Series, Bitburger Open Grand Prix and KLRC Bulgaria Open Grand Prix to complete a hattrict of titles.
While, the whole of country was celebrating the winning feats of these shuttlers, one man who sat all alone disappointed was ace shuttler Anup Sridhar.
Riding on his last year's performance, the 25-year-old Bangaorean got a ticket to the Beijing Oympics and soon became the best Indian male shuttler ranking world number 14 but an injury in the first quarter of the year dented his hopes as it kept him out of the court for most of the tournaments.
Sridhar started the year winning the All-India ranking tournament in New Delhi and reached the pre-quarterfinals of the Proton Malaysia Super Series where he lost to Hyun Il Lee, the eventual runner-up.
But after his inury he had to sit out of many tournaments including the Tata Open and the Indian Open. Even in the tournaments he played -- Indonesian Open, Singapore Open and Thailand Open -- he made an early exit.
However, a gutsy Sridhar didn't want to let go the opportunity of playing in the Beijing Games and taking a cortisone shot he took to the court, defeating Marco Vasconcelos of Portugal in the first round before going down to Shoji Sato of Japan in straight-games.
Though Sridhar attained his dream of representing India in the Olympics, the cortisone shots further prolonged his injury lay-off and he couldn't feature in any tournament after the quadrennial extravaganza.
In fine, this year has gone India's way and filled the Indians with a new aura of self-belief which is here to stay. As former All England Champion Pullela Gopichand would put it,"Indian badminton has come at the World stage."