The Uncrowned Queen of World Badminton - Saina Nehwal

[ilayapuyalvinodh_kumar]

Saina Nehwal (born March 17, 1990) is an Indian Khel Ratna winning badminton player currently ranked No: 2 in the world by Badminton World Federation, Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics and the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships.

Saina Nehwal made history on June 21, 2009, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament, by clinching the Indonesia Open with a stunning victory over higher-ranked Chinese Wang Lin in Jakarta. (The Super Series tournament is roughly equivalent to a Grand Slam in tennis.)

Saina won her second career Super Series title by winning the Singapore Open title on June 20, 2010. She completed a hat-trick in the same year by winning the Indonesian Open on June 27, 2010. This win resulted in her rise to 3rd ranking and subsequently to No. 2. This remains her highest career ranking. When it comes to BWF Super Series ranking for the year 2010 (which only considers the performances of players in the elite world super series tournaments), as on 27 July 2010, Saina is ranked No. 1 with 29860 points leading her nearest competitor Bae Youn-joo of Korea by nearly 1200 pts.

Previously coached by S. M. Arif, a Dronacharya Award winner, Saina is the reigning Indian national junior champion and is currently coached by Indonesian badminton legend Atik Jauhari since August 2008, with the former All England champion and national coach Pullela Gopichand being her mentor.

Saina was born in Hisar, Haryana and has spent her entire life in Hyderabad, India. Her foray into the world of badminton was influenced by her father Dr. Harvir Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad and her mother Usha Nehwal, both of whom were former badminton champions in Haryana. She is the top ranked player (both Men & Women) in Indian Badminton history.