Medal is God’s gift, says Saina's Father

After the heart-break of losing in the semi-finals to top seed Wang Yihan, Saina Nehwal found some solace from the bronze, albeit through an injury to second seed  Wang Xin Saturday . “It is unfortunate that Xin had to concede because of the injury but it is ‘kudrat ke daen’ (God’s gift),’’ said an emotional Harvir Singh, father of Saina, after the match.

Saina had gone to London hoping to win the gold medal after the disastrous campaign at Beijing Games  where she had lost in the quarter-finals. That defeat rankled Saina, who thought she was in a good chance for a medal. Four years down the lane, a confident Saina was a more fitter, more experienced and a better prepared player.

Saina always said they needed to be more systematic and professional. The top four players are from China. “It is difficult to compare with them. The Chinese are always strong. They come with new plans and they always have a surprise element in every Olympics,” she said before her departure to London. For Saina, her road to the final was dashed by Yihan. “Saina called me yesterday. My daughter was disturbed.  I told her not to worry and she can still bring a bronze medal to India,” said Harvir, who added that the preparations for London Olympics began at least three years ago.

“She was very focused. Thanks to Gopichand and his staff for a lot of preparation went into it. A proper diet was prescribed. She even ate specially prepared non-veg food from the hostel here (Directorate of Oilseeds Research),”  Harvir, who is a scientist, pointed out.

He also disclosed that Saina even refused endorsements before the Olympics as she thought it would be deterrent to her preparations for the London Olympics. “She was very serious of an Olympic medal this time that she declined four endorsements. ‘Papa, I can get endorsements later but Olympics is my priority’ she told me,” pointed out Harvir.

Saina, according to Harvir, was born to play badminton. “Badminton became a part of life. Ever since  she took the racket, she dedicated herself for the game. She took the risk of sacrificing her education. But we always supported her decision to take the plunge. She would spend hours at the court and she would come a few hours of rest at home,” explained Harvir.