Important for Saina to peak at the right time before Olympics: Gopichand

It was a good Sunday for Chief national coach P Gopichand as his trainee Saina Nehwal had once again breached the ‘Chinese Wall’ to win the coveted Indonesia Open. According to a report in the DNA, Gopichand said, “It is a very good victory for Saina. It was a tricky situation because we had a very tough schedule. There were many tight matches and it has been a very tough week and what was good is that she kept pushing,” Gopichand said.

Gopichand wants Nehwal to focus on her build-up to the Olympics. “We need to go and then assess her performance and work on the weaknesses. It would be very important for her to maintain her fitness and ensure that she peaks at the right time before the Olympics. These two wins will give her confidence a big boost,” he said, according to The DNA.

Meanwhile according to a report in The Times Of India, the worst dreams of the Chinese contingent are coming true as the Saina Nehwal juggernaut is on a roll. “The last two weeks could well be an indication of what China — the world super power of badminton — could expect at the Olympic Games next month. Saina is proving a tough nut to crack for the Chinese shuttlers as was evident at the Indonesian Open this week. The way the Hyderabadi is dismantling the supremacy of the Chinese is heart-warming for her billion fans.  On Sunday, the Hyderabadi displayed nerves of steel as she snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to claim her maiden Indonesian Super Series Premier title in Jakarta. Saina’s 13-21, 22-20, 21-19 win over China’s Li Xuerui proves the die-hard spirit of the 22-year-old, who saved two match points to script an incredible victory,” says the TOI report.

The win was sweeter for Saina who seems to bloom in Jakarta – her favourite venue. She had earlier won the Super Series title in 2009 and 2010 before the tournament was upgraded to the Premier level in 2011.

According to a report in The Indian Express, it was always going to be a tough battle for Saina against an opponent to whom she had lost four times and won just once — way back in 2010. Saina conceded four successive points at the start of the first game. “She battled back to make it 2-4 but her Chinese opponent maintained a steady lead throughout the first game. The two players engaged in a battle of smashes but Li was superior at the net,” says the report, adding that in spite of struggling to execute effective returns in the first game, Saina managed to shift to a higher gear in the second game.

“However, this was a game in which fortunes fluctuated sharply. An erratic Saina, who led 11-7 and 18-14, lost steam momentarily before saving two championship points at 18-20. In the third, Saina started off strongly by taking a 5-2 lead. At one point she was trailing 10-11 before going par at 13-all and then 14-all and then managing to lead 19-16. However, Saina let slip a championship point before clinching the decisive game.”