Saina had a pretty easy match against Gu Juan, and finished it off in less than half an hour. The real hard part of the tournament begins tomorrow, when she will be up against Juliane Schenk. Juliane is playing some of the best badminton of her life since the past few months, and has been consistently knocking out some of the top players in the world. Although the head-to-head puts Saina ahead 5-2, it means nothing on the day: it's a new match-up, and Juliane will be out to bring parity to the record. Saina will need to bring all her court-craft with her tomorrow...
Saina's loss of form not a big concern, says coach Gopichand 24 Sep 2011, 08:15 PM http://post.jagran.com/sainas-form-not-a-big-concerngopichand-1316875274 Excerpts: "Last year was fantastic. While this year has not been that great. Having said that she reached the semifinals and had a couple of decent runs till the semifinals. And it looked better than the previous tournament," he told reporters on the sidelines of the India International Sports Summit. ..."I haven't spoken to her post the match. But I'm sure we will iron out those things. These are minor things. I'm sure they can be sorted out. "There are still five Super Series level tournaments left till the end of the year. Hopefully, we will get her back to form," he added. "Earlier in the year, she had a couple of fitness issues but she overcame those. It seems to be a case of bad form. Hopefully, we will rectify that. And we just need to redeem and get back to do some work on her," Gopichand said. To a query on India's preparation for next year's London Olympics, Gopichand said, "I think the run-up to the Olympics is important. The 2-3 months before the Olympics are important. We have to talk to everyone to give them confidence. But what really matters is winning.
Thats a spirited performance in French open against[TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Li Xuerui. Never mind loosing a match like this 18-21 and 29-30.
2011 to date has not been a good year for Saina Nehwal. She won only one grand prix tournament, ie, the Swiss Open. She reached the finals of the Malaysian Grand Prix and the Indonesian Super Series tournaments but was eliminated in the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] round of the China and India Opens by unseeded opponents. She also lost in the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round of the Korean, Singapore, Denmark and French Opens, all, to unseeded players. What has happened? SN has so far played in 15 tournaments, excluding the Sudirman Cup tournament. Is she over-playing and getting burnt out in the process? P Gopichand, her coach, should be aware of the risk as SN could be unseeded for the 2012 OG.
Saina must be feeling very alone right now Aparna Popat. Nov 28, 2011 http://www.firstpost.com/blogs/saina-must-be-feeling-very-alone-right-now-141646.html Excerpts: A champion sees inconsistent days. The fame and adulation has one mounted in delight and then as form drops, the criticism is as bitter as it gets. ...With Saina Nehwal’s world ranking slipping one place from World No.4, the confidence of the fans has slipped too. Her performance in 2011 has come under the scanner. A Swiss Open title and finals of the Malaysian and Indonesian Opens have been the best she has managed with a month left in the calendar year. ...Not very long ago the headlines praised her performances and now they fretting about her form. We all want an Olympic medal from Saina and I’m dead sure that she wants that too and a little more. These days are tough on her. The self esteem may be hit and the maturity tested like never before. But there is no cause for alarm.
True fans should support even when Saina's having a slump, instead of criticizing...if they think the whole process of this sport is easy, they should be badminton players themselves.
Saina Nehwal half a step slower than last year: Prakash Padukone PTI | Dec 12, 2011, 10.24PM IST http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ear-Prakash-Padukone/articleshow/11085271.cms Excerpts: MUMBAI: Saina Nehwal, who has been struggling to replicate her superb run of 2010 when she won three Super Series women's singles crowns as well as the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, seems fractionally slower on her feet this year, feels former badminton ace Prakash Padukone. "It appears she is slightly slower this year as compared to last year. I feel she is half a step slow, which means she reaches the shuttle fractionally late and is able to retrieve the bird but not attack it consistently like she did last year," Prakash said on the sidelines of a media conference to announce the details of the Tata Open India International Challenge tournament on Monday. ... "It's a bit of a concern but the Olympics are some time away and I'm sure she will figure it out. Unlike the other Indian players in singles, she is certain to qualify for the Games," said Prakash. According to Prakash, the top eight players in the world were more or less equally strong and a slight dip in their respective forms could affect their results. "There is very little difference among the top 7-8 players," he pointed out. Another ex-national champion and international Vimal Kumar felt that 21-year-old Saina, who was the first Indian girl to win the world juniors, would benefit from having a talk with Prakash. "She has (Pullela) Gopichand to guide her, but tips from someone else like Prakash would also be beneficial. One of her biggest assets is her mental strength," said Kumar.
. I gathered that Saina Nehwal has already been drawn to play in Group B (at the 2011 SS Finals) against; * Wang Xin (CHN) * Bae Youn Joo (KOR) * Sayaka Sato (JPN) All the Best Wishes to Saina !!! .
thanks chris-ccc it would be a revenge time for saina as all her group mates have beaten her at least once this year..... wang xin has beaten her in maylasian open finals and world championship quarter finals Youn Joo Bae has beaten her in the first round of China Super Series and Sayaka Sato has beaten her in second round of Korea open.....
Revenge has been extracted and that too in a brutal fashion, kudus to her for a superlative performance, cum on saina ,get the podium stand
IMO, Saina Nehwal is indeed slower compared to last year in several rallies, not at the entire match. Saina should work more on her Stamina & speed.. If she is fast enough she will smash the ball down instead of lift the ball up..
GOOD ANALYSIS but she has improved and relates to her result, its been a horrible year for this lady,and with the determination which she has maybe she can overcome the shortages of certain skill.
Saina Nehwal first Indian to reach the final of BWF Super Series Finals Dec 18, 2011 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...series-Finals-summit/articleshow/11145157.cms Excerpts: HYDERABAD: The stunning win over Chinese star Wang Xin on Friday was just what Saina Nehwal needed to get out of her lean patch. She came out inspired on Saturday and outclassed Tine Baun of Denmark to cruise 21-17, 21-18 in the semifinals of the BWF Super Series Finals in Liu Zhou (China). ...She feels if she can beat Wang Xin she can beat anyone in the world. "I was desperately waiting for one big win to get back my rhythm and confidence. I achieved that on Friday and I feel good now," said Saina, who is cautious about the lanky Yihan.
Saina Nehwal loses in World Super Series final Press Trust Of India New Delhi, December 18, 2011 http://www.hindustantimes.com/sport...World-Super-Series-final/Article1-783984.aspx Excerpts: An erratic Saina Nehwal let slip the early advantage as she went down to world number one Wang Yihan in the summit clash to sign off as runner-up in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) season-ending World Super Series Finals in Liuzhou, China on Sunday. The world number four, the first Indian to make the final of the prestigious event, lost 21-18 13-21 13-21 against the Chinese in a contest lasting over an hour. With this win, Yihan kept her 100% record against Saina intact, having now beaten her in all their four faceoffs so far.
Saina did well to reach final. She should have another coach as an advisor. Gopichand alone is not good enough. When playing WYH, she should keep the shot low. WYH is just too good with cross drop and smashes. It's a waste if she doesn't have another coach to polish up her game by another 10% which can be a lot. OG is a big thingy. She's also another victim of china vs china in semifinals. She is more tired compared to WYH. Sad case. Again, should lobby for 1 person per country. Else, there's always a disadvantage. This is not a pro sport remember.
. Saina has got to believe that she CAN do it. More than 5 and a half years ago, I told Saina, in person, that she will one day be a World Singles Champion. The post is here; Now that Saina is older, she has to believe in herself. It was great that she won Game 1. But after WYH came back in Game 2, somehow Saina didn't try hard enough in Game 3 (or perhaps she wasn't as fit as WYH). .
