When Saina Nehwal first burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in 2006, Sania Mirza was at the height of her pomp: The irreverent messages on her t-shirts as well as the spunk in her attitude made the tennis player a hit with the Indian youth. Mirza had just been named the WTA Newcomer of the Year (2005) too.
The presence of two similarly named champions often caused confusion in newspaper offices. Saina… Sania… Saina… Sania: It was an easy mistake to make when writing a piece on the newbie, particularly in a rush to meet the deadline. Two letters changing positions, you just could not notice the difference. Not surprisingly, Saina would, more often than not, be the afflicted party. The following day, the error would be blamed on typoglycemia (a situation where as long as all the necessary lettersare present, and the first and last letters remain the same, readers appear to have little trouble reading the text). The editors were no less mad but at least this was a handy excuse.
Seven years on, such mistakes are fewer and far between. Reason: Imagine an India without cricket and Saina, 23, would be the country’s most famous sportsperson. You cannot discount Viswanathan Anand, Leander Paes and a host of Olympic stars but badminton has emerged as India’s second most popular sport thanks to the efforts of Saina, PV Sindhu, Paruppali Kashyap and Pullela Gopichand; it is the sport that is getting the media coverage and in which India is challenging the world.
Keeping it simple
Saina’s rise has been anything but instant. She has been around for a good eight years. But do we know her like we know, say, Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Ask the layman about the Indian cricket captain and he will quickly rattle off facts about his hair, his bikes, his cars, his wife, his captaincy, his food habits, his endorsements and even his ragging of Sir Ravindra Jadeja. Ask him about Saina and he will probably have two references to make—badminton and Gopichand. Press a little more and you might get him to talk about her much-documented penchant for aloo parathas too.
“I am a very simple person. I believe in actions and the truth,” says Saina in an email interview. “My childhood was spent in Hisar and my teenage years were spent playing badminton in Hyderabad. I did not get a chance to make friends because of this shift [of locations].”
Saina’s simplicity is humbling but the intensity of her focus can be unnerving too. “My parents initially wanted me to focus on studies but God wanted me to become a badminton player. One day in Hyderabad, [SM] Arif sir [a Dronacharya Award winner] recognised me as a player and I became one. Since 1999, badminton has been my only focus. Nothing else,” she says. “They talk about the aloo parathas but I can’t have too many of them as I gain weight. They are a luxury. When I am home, movies… particularly those of Shah Rukh Khan’s… are generally on my plate. I do not like shopping so my sister and mother do it for me.”
So much about Saina is badminton that you wonder if she has time to do anything else. This has been her routine for almost every morning since 1999: Exercise, do the rounds and practise her groundwork. Make no mistake, she enjoys what she does—spending six days a week on the courts, leaving nothing in the tank. And this is only possible because she loves winning the most.
“Sundays are the only free days. On the remaining six days we are busy with training on the badminton courts for at least six to seven hours per day. I don’t mind it. I want to be the best,” she says. “Intelligence with grit is the key to winning a tournament. One has to be stubborn to fight for the honour of the country; one must give 100 percent to win in any match. Some people have this attitude more compared to others. It is natural.”
Changing the game
Aparna Popat, former world No. 16 and one of India’s finest badminton players, has seen the sport morph from a niche discipline to one that is followed by the masses today. And she feels that Saina has played a big role in that transition. But why is Saina’s brand not as big as her impact? “Maybe badminton players are boring because that is how our mental make-up is. If you step back a generation, how many characters would you find in badminton? If you do the same for tennis, F1 or even cricket—you will find plenty of such instances,” says Popat. “My coach, for example, didn’t even let me read comic books when I was growing up because he thought that the small print may affect my eyes.”
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(This story appears in the 27 December, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
fabulous, awesome, amazing, superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on Feb 8, 2015Saina is a real champ. She may be a little out of form but considering the right kind of killer instinct and skill she posses she surely will be back to the top with a gusto. And the media must play a mature role to maintain the rivalry between Saina and Sindhu a healthy one. After all both are the true flag-bearers of Indian ladies badminton and champions should not fight among themselves. Saina you are a true champ and deserves to be among the best. Don\'t be disheartened as we the sports lovers are with you and are always going to support you in your hard times. Remember Saina the old proverb that THIS TOO SHALL PASS and once again you will be on the highest podium. ALL THE BEST Saina, you rock . Atta girl, way to go.
on Dec 19, 2013Ashish, it's Parupalli Kashyap not Paruppali. Hope u correct this
on Dec 17, 2013