Saina Nehwal vs IOA: Star shuttler's demands at Commonwealth Games were entirely unprofessional

My respect for Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, sports minister would have increased tenfold if he had politely asked Saina Nehwal to take the next flight back home from Gold Coast. This, after the star shuttler had threatened to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games if her father, Harvir Singh, was not granted necessary permission to stay with her in the games village. Though Saina’s fans may disagree with me, she is a bit of a prima donna and deserves to be told that nobody can be bigger than the game. What’s more, nobody can hold an entire nation to ransom while demanding personal privileges, even if it is at the cost of winning a gold medal at the Gold Coast games. The Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) role, on the other hand, in the episode that led to Saina’s threat — on Twitter and through an email — reeks of inefficiency and insensitivity. After initially refusing to include Saina’s and PV Sindhu’s parents in the officials’ list for the Commonwealth Games, they ceded to their requests on the condition that the players would pay for their travel and stay. This was when the star players should have been told, in no uncertain terms, that their parents would not be able to stay with their wards in the games village. The entire episode, that has left a bitter aftertaste, could have been avoided with better communication on part of the shuttlers as well as that of the IOA. [caption id=“attachment_4421389” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Saina Nehwal. Illustration courtesy Austin Coutinho[/caption] Harvir Singh’s games village accommodation was cleared by IOA after Saina’s threats, but one doesn’t really know if this facility has also been extended to Sindhu’s mother who was supposed to accompany her. In a tweet, reacting to the permission, Saina thanked IOA for the ‘support and help’ in sorting out her father’s accreditation issue at very short notice. “Hopefully, it will be great for the matches ahead and I am sorry for all the trouble,” she wrote. Now, this isn’t the first time that Saina has thrown tantrums and has won. A winner of the Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards, and a recipient of the Padma Shri in 2010, she showed her displeasure when she wasn’t nominated for the Padma Bhushan — India’s third highest civilian award — in 2016. She tweeted and compared her performances to that of ace wrestler, Sushil Kumar, who was in the coveted list that year. When Saina’s fans reacted to her tweets, fearing a backlash, the then sports minister, Sarbananda Sonowal relented and included her name in the awards list as a ‘special case’. Saina then tweeted, “I am thankful to Sonowal Sir for doing this and it’s a great support.” Though not much is known why she left Pulela Gopichand’s academy and went to train under the watchful eyes of Vimal Kumar at the Prakash Padukone academy in Bengaluru for three years, knowing Saina, one can only speculate that there may have been self-interest involved. I am very sure that it is the same self-interest that has brought her back to Gachibowli. There is very little doubt that Saina is a superstar. She has brought glory to Indian badminton and to Indian sport in general. Her parents, especially her father, have slogged and sacrificed their lives to mould her into the champion that she is today. But so have the parents of so many of India’s other stars — from cricket to football to even lesser known sports — who have brought laurels to the country. India has rewarded Saina amply for her contribution to badminton and for being a role-model to youngsters in the country. The Khel Ratna and Padma Bhushan aren’t minor decorations. With a host of multi-million dollar endorsements, gifts, prize-money and even a biopic planned on her life, Saina is now one of the wealthiest sportspersons in the country. As opposed to star badminton players of the past, like Nandu Natekar, Padukone, Gopichand etc., and even her compatriot  Sindhu, Saina is moody and temperamental. The word prima donna refers to the chief female singer in an Italian opera. Sporting superstars, who earn big bucks and are idolised by millions of people almost always have an inflated view of their importance and wear the prima donna status with a lot of ease. Saina is known to demand star prerogatives and when they are granted to her to thank her benefactor with the following tweet: “Sorry for the trouble.” This time round, she has perhaps stirred up a hornet’s nest; something she had not bargained for. The IOA doesn’t look too pleased with her threats and the sports ministry is already bracing up for the trouble that is brewing at Gold Coast, with the main concern being that of accreditation. The Indian weightlifting contingent that has already won a few medals in the men’s and women’s category at Gold Coast, don’t have a physio in the games village. Akrant Saxena who is their designated physio, we are told, isn’t accredited and can only work with the athletes with a day pass, and in the training area. Sahdev Yadav, general secretary of the Indian Weightlifting Federation has already expressed his disgust at the treatment meted out to his team. “Some star players (read: Saina Nehwal) get to have their parents in the village. Officials have their wives and children. But there is no place for a physio,” he is said to have told some reporters. A couple of more accreditation issues for legitimate persons, in the Indian team for the Gold Coast games, and the IOA officials may live to rue the arbitrary decision to help out Harvir Singh with the games village accommodation. They will have a lot to answer for. One only hopes that Saina Nehwal comes back from the Commonwealth Games with a gold medal, if only for the special status she has been accorded by the Government of India on quite a few occasions. The Indian people, who bear up with sporting prima donnas with such patience and forbearance, certainly deserve nothing less! The author is a caricaturist and sportswriter. A former fast bowler and coach, he is now a sought-after mental toughness trainer.