I think he can play well whether in individual or team event. He was very tentative in his play in the TC and I suspect it is because he was still getting fit. In the Philippines Open, you saw a very much different Hafiz. He toyed with his oppositions because his level of fitness and confidence are up. Boonsak was devastated -- he could not match a pumped-up Hafiz. Now is the time to turn our attention to the next Malaysian hero, LCW. He is so pumped-up, he is ready to belittle his oppositions in the Indonesian Open. He is 'jumping out of his skin' practically. I see no threat to him -- he should win it with ease. Good time for Malaysian fans.
An article from the Hindu Saina creates history, wins Philippines Open Principal Correspondent HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal created history when she became the first Indian woman player to win a four-star badminton tournament. She defeated Julia Xian Pei Wong of Malaysia 21-15, 22-20 in the women's singles final of the Philippines Open at Pasig City, Manila, on Sunday. "I am delighted and never expected to win such a big event so soon. My ultimate target is to win the All England championship one day," was the 16-year-old's Hyderabad girl's reaction over telephone with The Hindu. Incidentally, the Philippines Open is on par with the All England as a four-star event but lacks the aura. A boost Saina said that after she knocked out the World No. 4 and top-seeded Xu Huaiwen of Germany in the quarterfinals, her confidence level got a boost. "But I was never complacent. I kept talking to my parents and coach Gopi Sir (former All England champion Pullela Gopi Chand)," she said. "Essentially, I tried to be my normal self and not get carried away by the occasion. I played my normal game and did not try anything special," said Saina, who according to Gopi Chand is the best thing to have happened to the sport in India. "Definitely, there is scope for improvement. I am not so naïve to feel like a complete player after one big win. I have to work on my strokes and endurance to be more successful on the international circuit," she confessed. Very focussed For someone who had become the youngest Indian ever to win the Asian Satellite singles title in Delhi late last year at 15, Saina is very focussed. "Signing up with the Mittal Trust Foundation took a major financial burden off our shoulders and could not have come at a better time," she said, recalling the deal with the London-based firm in January this year. She is also grateful to BPCL for taking care of her travel expenditure for tournaments and the company has also promised her a job very soon. Gopi Chand pleased A clearly pleased Gopi Chand felt that this was the best result for Indian badminton in recent times. "It is not so easy to win any tournament, and more so abroad for there the pressures are bound to be different. To her credit, Saina seems to have handled everything — the opponents on court and the tensions off court — pretty well. Definitely, her future looks very good. She is the best bet now from India," he asserted. Saina's father Harvir was on cloud nine but admitted that the family never expected her to win the title. "We were happy that she was getting better and better but the final result was a pleasant surprise," he said. "We are grateful to Gopi, fitness trainer Dinaz and Saina's friends in the circuit for the result," he added. Special Correspondent from Bangalore writes: Prakash, Vimal hail Saina Saina Nehwal's splendid triumph at Manila evoked praises from the Indian maestro Prakash Padukone and former Indian coach, U. Vimal Kumar. Prakash called Saina's win as a great feat and termed her as the "brightest prospect for Indian badminton". Padukone said that Saina should keep her focus and aim for more such wins and earn a rightful place on the World stage. "I hope she keeps aiming higher and I wish her luck in the other three GPs on the tour,'' said the former All-England champion. Vimal said that "Saina has arrived on the world scene. By becoming the first Indian woman to win a Grand Prix title, she has transformed the women's game in the country. This was the break that I hoped she would get and she has got it. What I like about this girl is her attitude and she has tremendous self belief, she didn't stop with beating the World No. 4. She went for the title and got it. This was what others lacked. They win a few good matches, but never the title," said Vimal Kumar. He said that if she kept up the momentum, Saina could truly break into world's top 10 sooner than one expects.
Saina's ranking will shot up to the top 50s after her victory at the PO yesterday. Meanwhile, Jo/Greysia and Hendra/Joko will also be in the top 16.
With a good coach, I believe Saina can go far. She has a former all-England champion (Gopichand) as her coach right now..and she is indeed going in the right direction. With the financial support from the conglomerate Mittal group, she does not have to worry about money for participation in overseas tourney. With more ranking pts gained in the next 2-3 tourneys, her ranking will even shoot further to the top 30-40. Her prospect is definitely better than any Indonesian women singles player we have (except maybe for Pia Zebadiah). She will be in the top 10-20 within 1-2 years.
This is the kind of stuff that champions are made of! Kudos to Saina Nehwal! You will see more of her name in future and I believe she will be able to take on the Chinese women sooner than expected (just like ex-China Xu of Germany) if she continues with her good attitude and diligence. I'm really happy for this young lady whom I first met two years ago at the Singapore Open and again at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games this March!
Thais beat Asuncions for badminton crown Siblings Kennie and Kennevic Asuncion dished out their best game but still fell short of their gritty effort, succumbing to a power-hitting Thai pair of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam, 18-21, 16-21, Sunday in the final of the mixed doubles event of the $120,000 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Championships presented by PLDT Business Solutions at the Philsports Arena. A day after besting former Olympic silver medalists Tri Kusharianto and Minarti Timur of Indonesia, 21-15, 21-18, the brother-sister tandem found the going tougher against the fancied Thais. They were forced to dash from all corners while trying to save a barrage of smashes coming from the power-hitting Prapakamol. Thoungthongkam also came through with her own hits and net points to complement Prapakamol, who never seemed to run out of energy while pounding those winners from behind his teammate. The Thais, the 2003 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games gold medalists, thus won the top prize of $7,320 while the Filipinos, who skidded from 22nd last year to 68th in the world rankings, settled for $4,800. Earlier, Indian sensation Saina Nehwal trounced fifth seed Wong Pei Xian of Malaysia, 21-15, 22-20, to clinch the women’s singles title, capping a Cinderella performance in this four-star event, IBF-ranking tournament sponsored by Bingo Bonanza, JVC Philippines, Inc., Smart and PLDT. Down 16-19, Kennevic dove for a return on a solid Parapakom smash, then stood up for a drop shot that Thoungthongkam returned straight to net, giving the Filipinos the point and sending a huge, boisterous crowd into frenzy. Their brilliance, however, came in flashes as Prapakamol dictated the tempo all throughout the match with his overpowering performance, capping the game with thunderous smash to the chagrin of the big Sunday crowd. "It really helped playing before our countrymen, this is our best game against them in three games," said Kennie. The victory clinched the 16-year-old Hyderabad native the top purse worth $8,280, the trophy, the adoration of the Filipino fans and enough points to move her up further in the world rankings from 86th. "I’m really happy because I didn’t expect to win here, I was just here for exposure," said Nehwal, whose worthiest effort before this was a quarterfinal finish in the Asian Badminton Championship last month in Johore Baru, Malaysia. It was also a triumph that should make her countrymen happy. "Next to cricket, badminton is the most popular sport in India so this win should make our countrymen really happy," said Nehwal’s coach Babu Bhaskar. In men’s singles, Malaysian Hashing Muhd Hafiz, the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist, lived up to top billing by beating elder brother Hashim Rosling, 21-19, 21-7, to pocket the top prize amounting to $9,600. Indonesia’s Jo Novita and Gresya Polii walloped countrymen Nur Sugianti Endang and Rani Mundiasti, 21-16, 21-13, to cop the women’s doubles title together with the $7,320 that went with it. In men’s doubles, Albertus Susanto Njoto and Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama of Hong Kong, China rallied from a first set loss to shock third seed Hendra Gunawan and Joko Riyadi of Indonesia, 15-21, 21-19, 21-18. It was the Hong Kong pair’s second three-set triumph after a pulsating 22-24, 21-11, 21-15 stunner over second pick Sudket Prapakamol and Patapol Ngernsrisuk of Thailand in Saturday’s semifinals. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=40128
Is she the next new WS star?? I like her attitude and mindset in the above paragraph, especially after such a big victory. It's still a bit early to tell, but she's sure is a talent, reminds me of Taufik, when he started playing on international stage at around the same age or so..Since she is only 16 y.o., and similar to what Loh said, with many of the top China's WS are in the early to mid 20s, with 1 in her 30s, the future sure looks very promising for the young Saina...On that note, i will keep her name in mind in future tournaments and let's see what she has in store in her next tourneys..
I'm glad a lot of guys are now paying attention to 'pretty' Saina. Wait till you see her in person! She has a face like a cross between a Caucasian and the sharp features of an Asian, simply delightful! Hope she can grow taller and wow, we would have a 'star' in the making, but not the bosomy, plum, Bollywood type that X Ball had suggested. I'm waiting to take a pic with our very own star, Yannie. Then I can add to my album of pretty faces!
Hi everyone! im new to this forum. Good to see people recognising saina's talent. im a big saina fan, and i will be keeping a close eye on her progress. Congrats to her for winning the tournament, and i hope to see her winning many more. Im quite new to badminton. I know the scoring system , but i was wondering if any of you could tell me what's the highest star event? What's the lowest star event? And lastly how often r player rankings are released, so i can find out how much sains's ranking has gone up.... P.s Loh ,they r nice pics, hope u take more pics of her in future, ur so lucky....
