Gopi on Saina's 'maar doongi' attitude and more

All of India was not watching, like it was in August. There were no frantic cries of ‘Go Saina Go’. Television channels were not focussing on her. And newspapers behaved as if it was just another day in office for Saina Nehwal, playing another Super Series tournament in a town called Odense in Denmark. Till Saina breached the Great Wall of China. Also known as Wang Yihan, world number one in women’s singles. [caption id=“attachment_499146” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] The six duels between Saina and Wang Yihan in the past had produced only one victor — the girl from Shanghai. But Saina’s victory in the semi-final at the Denmark Open proved one of her favorite theories right. That the top Chinese players can be beaten. The number 6 seed Juliane Schenk in the final was comparatively easy meat as Saina battled her German opponent and knee injury to win her fourth title this year, after the Swiss Open in March and Thailand Open and Indonesia Open in June. Back home in Hyderabad, coach Pullela Gopichand could not help noticing the world of good the podium finish at the London Olympics had done to his ward. “Though I still wish the colour of the medal in London was different, I must say Saina has looked lot more confident and relaxed after the Olympics. She played very well at the net. She hit hard and moved very well,” he says, analysing her game during the tournament. Before the team left for Denmark, Gopi had spent quality time on the court, engaging Saina in several singles encounters. Celebrations and felicitation ceremonies had taken away four weeks after London but the six weeks after that were spent focusing on the task at hand at Denmark. “She was playing well. I just told her to relax and play her game,” he says. Knowing Saina, she would derive immense satisfaction from her victory over Wang Yihan. She had lost to her in the semis at London 13-21, 13-21 on a day when, as Saina admitted later, her legs simply refused to move. The Chinese proved “too fast” for Saina as the Hyderabadi shuttler “struggled to read her serve properly”. It was as if Saina was determined to make amends in Odense. Coaches and fellow players have pointed out that what stood out in Saina’s temperament right from her younger days was her “maar doongi” attitude. Which would be to go all out to defeat a rival who has triumphed in a previous match. Though Saina has matured with age, her hunger to win and not give an inch on court are her greatest virtues as a sportsperson. However, in the euphoria over the Denmark Open title, what should not be ignored is that just about every player is not in peak fitness after a major event like the Olympics. Gopi points out that just about every player had some part of the body in bandage. Understandable in a sport that is extremely demanding, where the body is pushed to the limit. Saina’s former coach SM Arif therefore cautions that the next time Wang Yihan meets Saina, it could well be a different Yihan. “But what is important from Saina’s point of view is the huge psychological advantage this victory will give her,” he says. For Gopi, there are important takeaways from the performance of his two leading girls. Both Saina and P V Sindhu have beaten top Chinese players this year, which will only give more courage to fellow players. Impossible is nothing is indeed the mantra that these wins will drill into more young Indian minds. T S Sudhir is the author of Saina Nehwal’s biography, that released in July 2012