Can Saina Nehwal cross London Bridge?

Saina Nehwal’s first round loss at the India Open Super Series must have disappointed scores of home fans, and opened up some chinks in the aura of invincibility that she has built up over the past year. There was plenty of surprise, for one is not used to seeing her lose so early in a tournament. This was, in fact, her first first-round loss in a major tournament since the Hong Kong Super Series in November 2009. '

The result is such an aberration that fans need not be disturbed. Two big events are scheduled over this year and the next, and her performance there will be keenly watched — the World Championships and the London Olympics. Were she to win either (or both) of these, Saina will have become a true badminton great.
Can she win either? Given her track record, there is little to doubt that she is capable of that feat. So far, only the biggest titles have eluded her — the Olympics, the Worlds, the Asian Games and the Asian Championships. She has a bronze at the Asian Championships, and quarterfinal performances at the other three.

How strong are her chances of going all the way?
Given her age, she can only get better, and her peak is yet to come. She has also proven that she has a phenomenal ability to withstand pressure — she has never yet been beaten in the final of a major tournament. Still, some in the circuit are as accomplished as her, and it is these players who have the biggest chances of thwarting her World and Olympic ambitions. Top of this list would be any one of the half-a-dozen Chinese.

Saina’s record against the Chinese is interesting. She has managed the admirable task of beating them in Super Series finals, and even stringing together two or three successive wins, but she does not have a positive win-loss record against any of their top players.

Wang Shixian is No 1 and the most complete player among the new generation of Chinese women players, and Saina has an even record against her (1-1). Jiang Yanjiao (3-0), Wang Xin (2-0) and Wang Lin (3-1) have a positive record over her, but most of these losses have come before her golden year of 2010, and Saina must now be a whole lot more confident following her three Super Series titles last year. Saina has often proven that she gets stronger with every subsequent match, once she gets used to the style of a particular player.

Among those who believe in Saina’s ability to win the Worlds or the Olympics is long-time badminton correspondent Raphael Sachetat, who has been by the sidelines of every major event over the last decade. Having seen the likes of Zhang Ning, Xie Xingfang and other Chinese greats from close quarters, Raphael believes Saina has no major deficiencies, and the nature of the draw at the Olympics can work in her favour.

“In my opinion, Saina has all it takes to be an Olympic champion, and she’s been up there at the top during the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“She needs to keep doing what she does best — concentrate on her strengths and build up her self-confidence, and use clever tactics against her opponents. She might need to get a bit of extra speed in her movement, and that couple of extra strokes which can surprise her opponents. Apart from that, she’s got everything — good vision of the game, maturity, ability to cope with pressure even if at some points she seems to be crawling under pressure.

She has handled it in the past and needs to learn to do that, and realise that if she doesn’t make it in London, she can in Rio in four years’ time. But she’s got the experience of Beijing already, which will play in her favour.

“As for China, I think she can handle them, especially since they’ll have a lot of pressure too. It will be, for most, their first Olympics as well, and only three at the most can qualify, which means that Saina will only have to beat a maximum of two Chinese to win the gold medal...”

Two players have consistently managed to stonewall Saina. Pi Hongyan, the French player of Chinese origin, has been beaten only once in six contests. The Frenchwoman plays the sort of game that can often frustrate Saina — long, relentless spells of defensive play that might provoke the errors from the attacking Indian.

The only other top player she has yet to beat is the two-time All England champion Tine Baun. Baun herself seemed to think that Saina was capable of holding off the Chinese and winning an Olympic gold. As she told the press at the India Open, “Saina is a talented and attacking player, like me. She has been taking on the Chinese on level terms and it is good for the sport. You cannot wish away that the Chinese are your biggest opponents, and to be among the top you have to keep beating them on a regular basis.”

While Saina will probably remain in the top-10 of the world rankings through most of her career, the major victories (Olympics, Worlds) will be a whole lot harder. Indonesian great Taufik Hidayat, for instance, is still cautious about giving his verdict on her. “I hope she can be more stable (consistent),” he said. “But we’ll have to see. She’s still young.”