Saina Nehwal revelation fuels India's doping scandal ahead of London Olympics Saina Nehwal revelation fuels India's doping scandal ahead of London Olympics The Telegraph, UK. Friday 08 July 2011 Full report: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...-doping-scandal-ahead-of-London-Olympics.html Excerpts: Saina Nehwal, India's top badminton player, has claimed that doping in the country was widespread following the news that eight athletes had tested positive for banned substances. "I know many athletes and weightlifters who themselves tell me that 'we take it'," Nehwal told local media. "It's sad that so many of the CWG (Commonwealth Games) and Asian Games medal winners tested positive." "Athletes and the weightlifters, in most cases, are less educated or not educated at all. They just take what their coaches give them," said Nehwal. "It is really sad that the athletes don't know what they take. The WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) website is very informative and has a complete list of the banned substances. "A player can easily log on and see if the drugs that they are consuming are in the banned list or not." Earlier this week India's Sports Minister Ajay Maken sacked Yuri Ogorodnik, the Ukrainian coach of the country's stable of female 400m runners.
Draw favours Saina at World Championships TNN | Jul 26, 2011, 01.18AM IST Full report: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t-World-Championships/articleshow/9364634.cms Excerpt: HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal could not have asked for a better draw than what she has been handed out at the BWF World Championships to be held in London from August 8 to 14. The Indian ace, who has been given a first round bye, should consider herself lucky as she will get enough time to acclimatize herself to the conditions before facing tougher battles. She should be able to reach the quarterfinals without breaking a sweat.
Byes are double edged swords. This is a new venue. An opponent who has played another match before her has had the benefit of match practice under the new conditions. I wouldn't read too much into this article.
The reporter probably didn't know . And the article continues; The world No.6 may face Adrianti Firdasari of Indonesia in the second round. Seeded sixth in the tournament, Saina should have it easy against the unseeded Indonesian. The reporter probably didn't know that their last match was won by Adrianti Firdasari; Sat 27-Feb-2010 Uber Cup Preliminary Asia Zone: Adriyanti Firdasari defeated Saina Nehwal 21-16, 21-15 in just 28 minutes. More Info: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/match.aspx?id=2157EAE5-4152-43EE-9E2B-5B15F230316E&match=41 .
Outside help for Saina to prepare for the OG2012 Indian cricket team analyst to work with Saina PTI | Jul 26, 2011, 09.03PM IST Full story: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...st-to-work-with-Saina/articleshow/9373826.cms Excerpts: NEW DELHI: Indian cricket team's video analyst, S Ramakrishan will be working with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal to help her improve her game ahead of the 2012 London Olympics. ...Ramakrishan, better known as Ramki, has been roped in by Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), a non-profit venture that supports Saina and other medal prospects for the London Games. ...After devoting the first six months to collecting data and other informations on Saina and her opponents, Ramakrishan said the shuttler will be put on the simulator in the latter half of her preparation for the quadrennial extravaganza. ...Emphasising the need to have a trained performance analyst, Ramakrishna drove his point by saying that the Indian cricket team's performance has gone up over the years and it "is getting better" by the day.
Getting into rhythm quickly will be the key: Saina Her troubling ankle completely healed, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal can’t wait for the World Championships next week but conceded that months of rigorous preparation would count only if she gets into the rhythm quickly at the London event. The 21-year-old took a break after the Indonesian Super Series to train for the event and said she will take it one round at a time from August 8 to 14. “I have been working really hard for the last 4-5 months. There has been a lot of improvement but it will boil down to how well I adjust to the courts in London and play in the initial rounds,” Saina told PTI. “It is a new arena. It is a test event for the London Olympics and we have never played there so we have to adjust to the conditions quickly to take on tougher opponents in the tournament,” she added. The world number six got a bye in the first round and is likely to take on Adrianti Firdasari in the second round. Saina has a 2-2 record against the Indonesian. “I have played quite a few tournaments with a bandage on my ankle and it was one of the reasons I couldn’t play well. But it has completely healed now and there is absolutely no pain anymore,” said Saina. Being the only top 10 shuttler in the country, there is always pressure on Saina and she says this is something she has to deal with. “Pressure will always crop in when you don’t move well or your strokes don’t fetch you points but that is a part of a player’s life and we need to deal with it,” said Saina. Asked about the 2012 London Olympics, Saina said that is still quite far away and though she is preparing for the multi-sport event, it is not on her mind right now. “It is still far away. I am training and just want to keep doing that. My coach will draw up a schedule for that, there are many tournaments before the Olympics and I will play the Super Series and see how it goes,” she said.
Good. She needs to improve her fitness. Speed wise not an issue. She just have to do lots of court running to get fitter. Regularly playing against 2 persone for 3 games would be good. Brutal but important to beef it up. The chinese ladies are doing it.
. I fear that Saina will be disadvantaged when playing Adrianti Firdasari. Adrianti Firdasari gets the advantage of adjusting to the courts first. .
Aamir a huge Saina Nehwal fan Aamir a huge Saina Nehwal fan Prashant Singh, Hindustan Times Mumbai, August 04, 2011 Full story: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Aamir-a-huge-Saina-Nehwal-fan/Article1-729211.aspx Excerpts: ...As badminton ace Saina Nehwal readies to go for the kill at the World Championships next week, the 21-year-old is looking forward to some encouraging words from an unusual fan — Aamir Khan. ...The actor, in fact, has been regularly cheering for Saina and makes it a point to send her congratulatory messages before and after each game. ...Lastly, ask Saina if she in touch with friend Deepika Padukone and she says, “Deepika is very clued in to badminton since she has also played the sport.” Besides being badminton legend Prakash Padukone’s daughter, not many know that the young actor has also played the game at state level. “Earlier, Deepika and I would keep in touch very regularly. Since she is a busy Bollywood star now, it’s difficult. But she’s a good friend.” ‘I am completely injury-free now’ ...Saina, who has played several tournaments with a bandaged ankle over the past few months, has also grappled with a ligament injury. But she says she is “absolutely fine” now. “It (ankle) has healed and I don’t feel any discomfort,”
Expect Saina to do well: Gopi N JAGANNATH DAS Express News Service Last Updated : 06 Aug 2011 11:23:06 AM IST HYDERABAD: Chief coach Pullela Gopichand expects a much better performance from Saina Nehwal in the badm�inton World Championship, which gets underway at the Wembley Indoor Arena in London from Monday. �The overall focus will be on Saina. She has also been playing and moving well. The practice sessions have been good for the last few weeks. We expect her to do well in London,�� said Gopichand , while speaking To TNIE before the Indian team�s departure to London. Excerpts from an interview... On Saina�s recent show I was not satisfied with her overall play in the last few tournaments. She was going through a lean patch, her str�okes were not on target. There were a few problems with her fitness but she is looking much better in the last four or five weeks. She has trained hard for the worlds. On Saina under pressure She is a seasoned player. She has played all the players whom she will face in the World Championship. There is nothing new in the world level in terms of players. It is how you get adjusted to the conditions and how focused you are before the tournament. That is all that matters. On Olympics and World Championship Saina should not keep the Olympics in mind now. She is capable of doing well and winning matches in the big events. She has showed it in the past. I would like her to play the World Championship like any another tournament. If the preparations is good, I don�t think there will be any problem for Saina. On Saina�s fitness Getting back her to full fitness was important. We concentrated on a few strokes. The fitness was down and we have been able to work to make her last three games. We feel things are looking much better now. On Chinese factor Chinese have the fear of Saina because she has beaten them consistently. Saina has the game to match them because you are going to have tough rounds and in the World C�ship the entire draw is tough. All the matches are going to be hard fought. For more info: http://expressbuzz.com/sport/expect-saina-to-do-well-gopi/301543.html
what a load of rubbish, here is Nehwal's consistent head-to-head against the top 4 in the draw, Saina NEHWAL 0-2 WANG Yihan Saina NEHWAL 1-3 WANG Xin Saina NEHWAL 0-3 JIANG Yanjiao Saina NEHWAL 1-1 WANG Shixian Gopichand is really taking the 'talking it up' to a new height.
really? the best she ever got were defeated in QF; 2008 OLY to Maria Kristin Yulianti 2009 WC to Wang Lin, and 2010 WC to Wang Shixian. she definitely shown us. [TABLE="width: 1"] [TR] [TD="class: xl72, width: 131"][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
As coach Pullela has to talk tough to give ZN morale booster, can't expect him to make negative statements to sink ZN hopes at this point. ZN path had WX, then WYH and WSX/JYJ/TB, that is tough. And Firda is a handful for her too.
Saina Nehwal can beat any Chinese player: Pullela Gopichand Saina Nehwal can beat any Chinese player: Pullela Gopichand Published: Monday, Aug 8, 2011, 7:00 IST By Gautam Sheth | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA Full story: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/inter...-any-chinese-player-pullela-gopichand_1573610 Excerpts: She has had a mixed year so far. Is it more because of the form or is she still recovering from her injury? I think at 21, what she has achieved is fantastic. I don’t think there is anything to worry. There isn’t anything to panic about as such. She has lost a couple of times recently but I think that is fine. If you can believe in yourself and back yourself, I don’t think it should be a problem as such. Saina consistently puts in the efforts so it’s all fine. Any particular player from China who can bother Saina… That depends on how fit the Chinese players are coming in to the tournament and how fit Saina is. I mean, China comes up with a new world beater at the drop of a hat. All of them are at their peak always and you really can’t rate one better than another. So, I really don’t know if any specific player would be a threat to her. Saina, too, can beat anyone of them.
That is true SN can beat any of them and vice versa too...but the problem is SN might face all 3 of them consecutively to win it all, and that makes it more difficult, in other words SN has to be top form, mentally and physically, all 3 nights. Whereas the CHN WS are playing for CHN, if any of them wins, that is mission accomplished. The dark horse IMO is TB...WSX game is suited to TB and if JS can beat JYJ, TB has a chance and in final, anything can happen.
Saina lost in the QF of the Asian Games too... to Yip Pui Yin. I am afraid that unless she gets rid of her mental block like what I posted many pages ago, she will not go far... Don't get me wrong, I really hope she reaches the SF at the very least but I doubt it.
2011 World Championships: Saina Nehwal should at least make it to the Quarter-Finals? . IMHO, Saina should at least make it to the Quarter-Finals. But let's wait and see. .
