Saina – The Pride of India

“I remember, in 1990, when as a five month-old baby, Saina visited the indoor stadium at Hissar, she suddenly broke into a hearty laugh. I believe she fell in love with the game from a very young age.”
-Saina's father Harvir Singh on Saina Nehwal / June 21, 2009

Pic Courtesy : Wikipedia Page of Saina

Fearless, focused, gritty, determined shall perhaps be the words to describe this young prodigy the best. Saina Nehwal, as it stands, is currently number 2 in the world of Badminton (wef 15th July 2010 till date). She is an Arjuna awardee (2009), a Padma Shree (2010) and has been recently nominated for the highest national sporting award – the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. Her incredible achievements in a very short career span have won her many accolades. She is, in fact, the glory, the pride of our motherland.

Born in Hisar, Haryana in the year 1990, Saina was introduced into the world of badminton by her father Dr. Harvir Singh, now a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad and her mother Usha Nehwal, both of whom were former badminton champions in Haryana. Saina’s badminton career started precisely at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad under Nani Prasad, which entailed an excruciating 50 kilometers of daily travelling and considerable expenses. The tight-rope walk continued until 2002, when sports brand Yonex offered to sponsor Saina’s kit. As her status and rankings improved, the sponsorships increased. In 2004, BPCL signed the rising star onto their payroll, and in 2005 she was spotted by the Mittal Champions Trust.

She never looked back after that. The perseverance, determination and tremendous discipline sailed her through turbulence of former national and inter-national champions convincingly. Records were re-created, history was newly written. This girl has shown it to the world – even to the mightiest oppositions of her Chinese counter-parts. After her semi-final victory in the Indonesian Super Series June, 09 she told her dad –
“Papa, I wanted to win this match. I lost a close math to Lu a few months ago. I was confident this time that I would beat her.”

“Don’t worry I will beat the Chinese girl” – were her another set of words minutes before the final of the same tournament. Such was and is the confidence and resolution in the little champion. And it was indeed a history in the page of Indian Badminton when Saina won the finals of the Indonesian Open.

‘Brand Saina’ now endorses many a brands. She is also the ambassador of Deccan Chargers, the IPL team of Hyderabad. Interestingly, the austere champion also tried walking on the ramp but much to an immaturity. Despite all the glam of being a world champion, she incessantly cultivates the hunger of reaching the apotheosis. She is currently trained and nurtured by two of the former world baddy champions – Atik Jauhari and Pullela Gopichand.

“She will very soon become world number one.”
— Prakash Padukone (June,09 After her win in Indonesian Series)

Saina’s painstaking achievements coupled with her ornaments of asceticism and austerity leaves me infatuated for sure. Like former champion Prakash Padukone, let us also join in wishing and praying that Saina mountains the status of the exclusive racket Queen of the world as early as possible.

With the World Champion

This man does not bathe in news nor is he the sizzling hero of common multitudes, but he certainly is the king of the minds and brains – the very one and only GM Vishwanathan Anand.

His recent world championship title against GM V Topalov of Bulgaria proved once again that he is undisputedly the most versatile and prodigious chess-master even at 40. Truly he remains the cherished icon of every single chess player of this motherland.

My experience with the grandmaster was exceedingly rich, inspiring and touching. I was moved to be in the very presence of the six feet tall milky king – so gentle, so submissive that will perhaps give you the futile illusion of him being a true genius and world-champion.

It all started in fall 2006, wherein I got an opportunity to play in the NIIT’s National Chess Championship – the very brand that sponsors Vishy from inception. It was indeed a hectic tournament which filtered players from grass-root levels i.e. from school level to the Nationals. For the intermediate district level, I had to go to Vapi, which was a 10 hour long chilling winter journey from Ahmedabad via a rickety State bus. Thereafter, I remember vanquishing all opponents from the neighboring states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, MP; having to play online in my school alone till six in the evening. In the said regard I cannot miss out my teacher Ms J Rao whose incessant support steered me through all odds.

The finals of the Chess Championship beckoned me in Chennai in December 2006 just prior to my class X boards which further escalated my hesitation to participate. Eventually I landed up in the Russian Center in Chennai, a familiar place of Vishy’s chess-childhood, where the Grandmaster obliged us (the national participants) with a simultaneous. Almost everyone close to Vishy was present – his wife Aruna, his mother and not to forget the big-wigs of NIIT headquarters. To be very honest, our game was more of a commercial endorsement with dozens odd paparazzi and flashes terrorizing the very tranquility for a chess game.

I can well recall Vishy walking up to me at the end of my game and telling me my flaws – his humbleness, his greatness, his versatility inspired greatly the little chess-player in me. Last but not the least the memories of receiving the prize from the world champion still exhilarates me, especially because he is again the New World Chess Champion.

GM - Grandmaster (in chess)