Badminton Queen of India Saina Nehwal (17 page)

Aparna Popat

Aparna Popat is an Indian badminton player. Saina believes that Popat is one of India’s best badminton players. She respects the player for her skills and as an individual. Aparna was solely interested in her game and inspired many young female players. She was a national championship winner for ten times where she won thrice over Saina in the years 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Taufik Hidayat

Taufik Hidayat is an Indonesian badminton player and a former World and Olympic champion in men’s singles. He has also won the Indonesian Open six times in the years 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006. Saina feels that the player gad made audiences feel how easy the game can be with his skills. She also adds that the player is cute and adorable to watch on court.

Lee Chong Wei

Datuk Lee Chong Wei is a professional badminton player from Malaysia who was ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks from 21st August 2008 to 14th June 2012 as singles player. He is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the ranking for more than two weeks. According to Saina, this talented player from Malasia is hard to ignore.

Tine Baun

Tine Baun is a female former badminton player from Denmark. She is known for her victory in the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships women’s singles title thrice in 2008, 2010, and 2013. Saina adores this player and her formidable presence on the court. Her smash shots are very popular. Saina has won against her at the Olympics.

Tracy Hallam

Hallam played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In women’s singles, she defeated Juliane Schenk of Germany and Camilla Martin of Denmark in the first two rounds. She won the title of women’s singles of badminton at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Saina loves this player and to watch her play.

Other Players Saina Adores

•    Lu Lan

•    Zhang Ning

•    Xie Xingfang

Saina’s Favourite Cities

Travelling is an integral part of Saina’s life. Being a badminton player, her career demands frequent national and international trips. The ace shuttler loves to travel. During the beginning of her career, she did not travel abroad much. It was after the Czech Open in the year 2003 that her abroad trips became frequent. Today, international travel is just a part of her work.

According to Saina, the road she travels most is the one that takes her to airport from home and back home from airport! She likes to watch movies, cartoons or play Angry Birds as a part of her in-flight entertainment sessions. Her iPad helps in killing time and keeps her engaged during frequent long trips.

Her First Trip Abroad

Saina’s first trip abroad was when she was just sixteen years old. Till then, she had travelled only with her team. But this trip was different as she was supposed o attend a training programme at Guangzhou in China. She went all alone this time. The trip was sponsored by Mittal Champions Trust. Since it was too expensive for her parents to join in, she decided to move ahead alone. Travelling alone to a foreign land was quite scary for Saina. She had to go through a long gruelling enquiry session with the migration authorities. But finally, she managed to travel back home all alone.

In the year 2008, she again travelled alone to Shanghai for the Master Super Series. She had to stay there for five days. She befriended with her roommate, a Canadian player, Anna Rice. The two got along really well.

The same year, she travelled to Denmark and Hong Kong. This time, it was easier for her to manage. She was an experienced traveller now! This was also the year of learning for her. The homesickness made her call up her parents many times during her stay which resulted in enormous phone bills. In fact, the bills amount to about a lakh of rupees! Then, she realized the importance of buying a local SIM card on foreign trips to save money on phone bills.

Saina travelled to many parts of Asia and Europe. Some of her most frequent visits were to countries like Malaysia, China. Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, England, Denmark, France and Germany.

Favourite Cities

Although, Saina’s tight badminton schedules have always kept her from opportunities to explore the places she visits, she has managed to rank the following cities as her top favourites for various reasons:

Hyderabad

This is the city where this world champion had spent most of her childhood. Her parents were complete strangers to the city. But soon they managed to explore the city for its goodness and opportunities it offered them. She is in awe of this city for its rich culture, history and many interesting places such as Golconda Fort, Charminar, Lumbini Park, Salarjung Museum and many more. Saina feels that the weather here is perfect for an athlete and this worked really well for her.

Kuala Lumpur

Saina plays regularly in Malaysia. Hence, she has developed affection with Kuala Lumpur. The people recognize her. Although, it was not possible for her to explore the city during her tournament visits since 2004, she managed to travel the city finally in the year 2010 when she visited with her father.

Singapore

Saina loves to shop. Her favourite shopping city is Singapore. She is in awe of the clean and spacious roads here. The place is known for its amazing malls and restaurants. Saina feels that the city is a must visit for any food and shopping lover. This is also the place Saina wants to visit for a relaxing break.

Paris

The magical city has caught Saina’s fancy. The Olympic stadiums here are amazing. During a visit to the city with her father, she had an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Eiffle Tower, Louvre Museum to catch a glimpse of Mona Lisa and a lot more.

Shanghai

This is one of Siana’s favourite Chinese cities. She loves it due to the fabulous network of roads and canals the city enjoys. With around four bridges sometimes, it is a complete visual treat for visitors.

Birmingham

The city has a special place in Saina’s heart as it is the venue for the All England Badminton Championships (the mother of all badminton tournaments). She is in awe of the wide roads and cold weather here.

Tokyo

One of the most beautiful cities as Saina likes to describe the city, the place is also known for its incredible road network. The city is technologically advanced and a marvellous place for gadget lovers.

Melbourne

This is the city Saina loves the most in the south. The city is beautiful, clean and well managed. The spacious stadiums are a plus point for any badminton player. Saina also love the people of the city and their hospitality.

Hong Kong

The city is known for its floating restaurants, Skyscapers, and the amazing Disneyland. Saina won the Hong Kong Open here in the year 2010. This was the time she celebrated her victory by visiting Disneyland with her father and teammates. She also paid a visit to the Shiromani Gurudwara with the Indian team the same year.

Dubai

Being a shopaholic, Saina adores this city. She also loves the Burj Khalifa, the world’s highest skyscraper here. Dubai is also known for its incredibly amazing man made attractions such as hotels on sea, the Gold Souk, and mesmerising aquariums.

Saina Nehwal’s Annual
Tournament Itinerary

Saina Nehwal has a specific schedule fixed for each month of the year just as any player of her calibre would. Here is how she plans a year and what is actually scheduled for her each month: