London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal received a grand welcome in Hyderabad, says a report in The Times of India. Saina took an open top bus ride from the Indira Gandhi International airport to Gachibowli and hundreds of her fans followed her. Then she travelled in a chariot to the Pullela Gopichand Academy.
Saina said, “Gopi sir looks very composed but I was surprised when I saw him jumping for joy after my win. I was pleasantly shocked. He always used to tell me, 'Saina, I was not able to win an Olympic medal, but you can win it for me'.
She added, “Also, I cannot forget the contributions of my father. This victory could not have been possible without his efforts. He sacrificed a lot for me.”
Meanwhile, a report in The Hindustan Times says that Saina Nehwal wanted to stop playing badminton after a streak of losses last year.
Her coach, Gopichand said, “Saina came up to me the day after she lost to Tine (Baun) in Denmark. (She was) crying (and) her eyes (were) swollen, she came to me and said 'Bhaiya it is not happening for me. We need to do something. She said if this continues I will not play."
“I promised her that we will win an Olympic medal. The same day I made calls to my dad, mom and my wife and said I want to fulfil my promise,” said Gopichand.
Saina Nehwal was confident of winning a medal at London Olympics, says a report in The Hindu.
“Well, before the start of Olympics I was confident of winning a medal, especially after winning the Thai and the Indonesian Opens beating some of the big Chinese names. But, I did not tell the media this for it meant putting lot of pressure on you. I am glad I achieved what I said before the Game”, Saina said.
She added, “I love to keep playing till 36. Touch wood, if I maintain my fitness levels. There is still lot to achieve and I am very keen to keep winning big titles and many medals too .The first time I dreamt of an Olympic medal was in 1999 when I started playing because my mom (Usha Nehwal) insisted that I should aim at winning Olympic medal. I told her – are you joking for I just started playing. But she felt that unless I dream big I cannot achieve big goals.”