Saina's achievement bigger than Sania's

The hype around tennis ace Sania Mirza may be bigger but ace shuttler Saina Nehwal clearly has the edge in terms of performance, feels badminton legend Prakash Padukone. Comparing both the Hyderabadis's achievements, Padukone said the fact that Saina has beaten more higher ranked players than Sania tilts the balance in the shuttler's favour.

Prakash felt Saina, who recently won the Indonesian Super Series, had it in her to become the world number one within two years' time. "Saina has all the qualities to become the world number one, provided she continues to work hard and maintain her form," Prakash said on the sidelines of the media conference to announce the entries for the Tata Open Badminton tournament commencing at the Cricket Club of India on Wednesday.

Prakash said from whatever little he has seen of Saina's game of late, she seems to have improved her net play and movement on the court. "She has improved her play at the net and is also moving better. She has always been fit but now seems fitter. But she should not rest on her laurels and strive to get better in all these areas," he said.

Prakash also asked the men shuttlers, five of whom are in the top 50, to take inspiration from Saina's performance and put up better displays at the international level. "They should draw inspiration from Saina's performance. After all the facilities for her and them are the same. What I feel is that they need to improve their self-belief when playing against the top players from China, Indonesia and so on," he felt.

The former All England champion said that in tournaments like Super Series a player needs to get past three or four very highly rated rivals before winning the title. Prakash agreed that the depth in women's competitions were not as high as the men's, but said it did not take anything away from Saina's performance.

Saina sets up title clash with Lin Wang in Indonesian Open

Always ready for any challenge, Saina Nehwal's entry into a Super Series final on Saturday is not a surprise at all. Badminton world's most promising player last season had remarked prior to the Asian leg of events that there was still time before she consistently made finals of Super Series events.

"There's a long way to go before I win a Super Series," the World No. 8 had said, clearly not fancying her chances in the final. On Saturday in Jakarta, the Hyderabadi teen turned things around in dramatic fashion, stunning former World No. 2 Lu Lan of China 25-23, 21-19 to storm into the final of the Indonesia Super Series, her maiden entry at this level.

"She was very, very happy and pleasantly surprised," national coach Gopi Chand told TOI. "Crossing the semifinal was becoming a hurdle for her and she was delighted to have beaten a top Chinese player." Saina will take on World No. 3 Wang Lin of China in the final on Sunday. Lin beat World No. 5 and No. 8 seeded compatriot Xie Xingfang 21-19, 21-13 in the other semifinal.

Although the sixth-seeded Indian lost in three close games to Lin in the quarterfinals of the Singapore Super Series last week, Gopi feels the loss would not play on Saina's mind. "I really think she has a very good chance of winning the title. She told me she was moving very well today. She won a lot of points at the net and on her half-smashes. If she manages to get an initial lead, I'm sure it would pep her up," said Gopi.

Saina started off well against Lu, a former World Championship bronze medallist, and led 11-9 in the first changeover. Lu, ranked just below Saina at No. 9, was forced to play catch up. Lu, seeded No 7, bounced back stronger in the second, racing to a 6-0 lead. Saina reduced the gap by attacking Lu on the backhand corner and, at 9-13, the Indian reeled off six consecutive points to surge ahead 15-13. Saina maintained the point difference and clinched the match after 39 minutes on her first match point.

Saina squeezes into second round of Singapore Open

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal survived some anxious moments before getting past qualifier Maja Tvrdy of Slovenia in a thrilling three-game opening tie at the Singapore Open Super Series in Singapore City on Wednesday. Sixth seed Saina came from behind to beat Maja 18-21, 21-11, 21-16 in a 50-minute gruelling battle in their women's singles match.

However, compatriot Aditi Mutatkar suffered a first round defeat against Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands after she went down 21-14, 21-19 in a just over half an hour clash in another match. It was also curtains for India's mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju as the duo went down to sixth seeded Chinese pair of Zhongbo Xie and Yawen Zhang 21-13, 21-14 in 23 minutes.

Saina said initially she was struggling to adjust to the conditions of the court. "It was a difficult match. She was a solid player. She was better aware about the conditions while I struggled initially. I was making many unforced errors, hitting the shuttle outside and conceded the game," she said.

"But in the second and third game, I could control the shuttle better and I involved her in long rallies. She was finding it difficult and made many unforced errors," Saina added. The 20-year-old Hyderabadi will next face Indonesian Adrianti Firdasari in the second round tomorrow. Firdasari beat qualifier Korean Moon Hi Kim 23-21, 21-15.

"I have played against Firdasari, she is a very good player. Our count so far is 1-1. I had beaten her last year here, while she defeated me in Korea. So I will have to play very well," she said.

Saina rises to eight, Jwala-Diju breaks into top 10

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has jumped one place to the eighth spot, while a place in the finals of the Indian Open Super Series catapulted the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju to the elite top 10 bracket in world rankings.

Jwala and Diju put up a stupendous show at the Indian Open Grand Prix Gold and reached the finals of the event before going down to Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa of Indonesia. However, the Indian duo's performance was good enough to crack the top 10.

Elated at the news, Jwala said they would look for a top five berth by the year end.

"We would definitely look to crack the top five now," said Jwala, who along with Diju won three tournaments last year, the Bulgaria Open Grand Prix, Bitburger Grand Prix Open and the Nepal International Series.

This year the Indian duo reached the semi-finals of Korea Super Series and quarter-finals of German Open Grand Prix.

The Indian pair will now look to repeat their feat in the forth coming Asian Badminton Championship starting on April 6 in Korea. Diju, however, sounded cautious. "There are some Chinese players and they are quite good so I am just looking at giving my best shot," he said.

However, in the women's doubles category, Jwala made it clear that she would not pair up with Shruti Kurian. Meanwhile, Anup Sridhar's pre-quarterfinal appearance in Hyderabad helped him to jump eight places to the 40th spot.

However, a second round exit in the Indian Open pushed Chetan Anand one place down the rung at number 13, while Arvind Bhat, who exited in the second round of Indian Open after a clash with eventual winner Taufik Hidayat, remained at number 28th spot.

Saina, Jwala-Diju in quarter-finals

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal thumped Hung Yung Chan of Hong Kong in straight games to sail into the quarter-finals of the Yonex Sunrise Indian Grand Prix on Thursday.

Women's second-seed Saina rode on the unforced errors of her opponent and thrashed her 21-8, 21-8 to set up a quarter-final clash with fifth-seed Xian Wong of Malaysia.

Second-seed Indian mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju also reached the quarter-finals after drubbing Xiaolong Liu and Jinhua Tang of China 21-10, 21-15 in the match lasting 21 minutes.

However, it was end of the road for other women's singles shuttlers as they failed to reach the next round.

PC Thulasi played her heart out but could not get past sixth-seed Yu Hirayama of Japan, while compatriot Sampada Sahastrabuddhe also met her end at the hands of Beiwen Zhang of Singapore. Qualifier Ashwini Ponnappa also hit dead end after losing 16-21, 16-21 against Julia Pei Xian Wong.

Thulasi lost 11-21, 18-21 to Hirayama in a 31-minute battle and Sampada was sent packing 18-21, 17-21 by Zhang in 26 minutes.

Saina used the court well and played better from the nets as her opponent just couldn't gauge the length of the court and kept sending the shuttle out for a walk. Saina grabbed the opportunity to make points from the unforced errors of her opponent and pocketed the first set 21-8.

Chan played better in the next game but could not meet the class of the Indian and kept losing points before Saina sealed the game and match 21-8.

Saina revises her goal, aims to crack top five by 2010

Citing that she needs more experience in the international level, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has now revised her target from being the numero uno to just breaking into the elite top five bracket by 2010.

"I had earlier said that I was aiming to be on the top but realistically to be among the first five will be fine with me," Saina told reporters.

"Right now, I am doing well and I am satisfied with my performance in the international tournaments. But I need more experience. Playing in different tournaments will be important," the 18-year-old teen added.

The current world number 10, Saina, who is training under her coach and former All England champion P Gopichand at his academy in Hyderabad, does not feel the need to train abroad.

"I think training in India is as good as training elsewhere as we have the best of facilities (in India)," the Beijing Olympic quarter-finalist said.

Referring to the World Badminton Championship to be held in Hyderabad in August, Saina said though she would have home advantage, she would not take the event lightly.

Saina goes down fighting in Malaysian Super Series quarters

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal played her heart out but eventually ran out of steam as French Hongyan Pi beat her in a gruelling quarter-final encounter of the Malaysian Super Series on Friday.

The World number 10 Indian went down 17-21, 26-24, 16-21 to Pi, whom she had beaten in the World Super Series last month, after a nerve-wracking 56-minute battle.

World number eight Pi made her intentions clear right from the start and opened a 9-6 lead before stretching it to 15-9.

But Saina soon narrowed the gap to 13-15 claiming four straight points. However, the Indian could not keep up the pace and the first game slipped out of her hands 17-21.

Pushed to the brink, Saina came back strongly in the next game going neck to neck from 5-5 to 16-16 before Pi pocketed three quick points to open a three-point lead at 19-16 but a gutsy Saina smashed three points to draw level.

Levelled at 24-24, Saina broke loose and grabbed two quick points to pocket the game 26-24 and stay afloat in the match.

However, the Hyderabadi teen run out of steam in the last games and after some initial resistance, she lost the plot as Pi walked away with the game 21-16.

Saina will next play in the Korea Super Series from January 13-18 next week.

Saina Nehwal loses in World Super Series semi-final

Saina Nehwal played her heart out but lost to world number six Chen Wang of Hong Kong in an edge-of-the-seat semi-final of the World Super Series Masters Final on Saturday.

The world number 10 Indian used every trick from her arsenal but failed to match the experience of her third seed Hong Kong opponent and went down fighting 21-15, 14-21, 16-21 to bring down curtains in the prestigious tournament.

An attacking player, Wang rode on her smashes and better net play to wrest the match as Saina huffed and puffed helplessly all across the court.

However, the 18-year-old Indian raised her game and rallied to pocket the first game 21-15.

The third game was a cliff-hanger as the two rivals fought tooth and nail. At one point, Wang opened up a four point lead but Saina narrowed down the gap pocketing two quick points.

Finally, however, it was the Hong Kong girl who had the last laugh as she sealed the match in 42 minutes.

Saina became the first Indian to reach the semifinals of the World Super Series Masters Finals on Friday when she beat Hongyan Pi of France in straight games and later edged out local favourite Mew Choo Wong in a thrilling contest on a single day.

The Beijing quarter-finalist will next play in the Malaysian Super Series and the Korean Super Series in January next year.

Saina lose in Hong Kong Open

India's challenge in the Hong Kong Super Series ended with Arvind Bhat and Saina Nehwal losing their quarter-final matches.

Bhat lost to Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana 26-28, 22-20, 14-21 while Nehwal went down to Hong Kong's Chen Wang 25-27, 21-24, 15-21.

Ponsana will meet third seed Chinese Jin Chen, who beat third seed Weijie Gong 21-8, 21-10.

Wang will face her second seed compatriot Mi Zhou, who got the better of Pui Yin Yip 13-21, 21-16, 21-14.

Saina Nehwal wins world junior championship

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday became the first Indian to clinch the World Junior badminton Championship with a straight-game win over Japanese rival Sayaka Sato in the final.

Top seed Saina got the better of her ninth seeded Japanese rival Sayaka Sato 21-9, 21-18 in a lopsided match that lasted just 25 minutes.

"It is a great feeling to win it this time. The last time in 2006, I had lost in the finals but I am happy that I clinched the title this time," Saina, who reached the quarter-finals of the Beijing Olympics, said after the match.

"However, I reckon my semi-finals match against Chinese Shixian Wang as the toughest in the tournament," she added.

With the Commonwealth Youth gold and the World Junior badminton title in her kitty, the world number 11 has now set her eyes on China and Hong Kong Open later this month.

"I am next playing China Open and Hong Kong open this month and I am confident of doing well there as well," the national champion said.

National coach Pullela Gopichand said Saina played like a champion all through the tournament.

Saina enters semi-finals of World Junior championship

India's Saina Nehwal and RMV Gurusaidutt notched up contrasting wins to advance to the singles semi-finals at the World Junior Badminton Championship on Friday.

Top-seed Saina prevailed over Lindaweni Fanetri of Indonesia 21-13, 21-13 in just 30 minutes, while fifth-seed Gurusaidutt stunned second-seed Korean Sung Min Park 21-16, 14-21, 21-19 in a 53-minute gruelling battle.

National champion Saina will next face third-seed Chinese Shixian Wang, while Gurusaidutt will take on another third seed, Chinese Zhengming Wang, for tomorrow's last four clash.

Saina Nehwal breezed into the quarter-finals in CYG

India had a good day, with as many as four shuttlers, including Olympian Saina Nehwal sailing into the quarter-finals of the badminton event in the third Commonwealth Youth Games on Tuesday.

Top seed Saina breezed into the quarter-finals, spanking Deborah Hay Beth Godfrey of South Africa 21-7, 21-4 in a lopsided contest that lasted only just 15 minutes.

In another women's singles match, Sikki Reddy stunned second seed Kate Robertshaw 21-16, 21-19 in a 24-minute battle to sail into the final eight.

In men's single, top seed Gurusaidutt RMV pummelled Joel Dubel of Seychelles 21-4, 21-2 to enter the quarter-finals, while Aditya Prakash got the better off second seed Wales James Van Hooijdonk 21-17, 21-13 in 28 minutes to book his quarter-final berth.

In the men's double, top seeded Indian pair of Sai Praneeth and Pranav Chopra thrashed Wales pair of Gareth Cox and Rhys Pritchard 21-8, 21-15 in 20 minutes to enter the final eight.

Saina crashes out of Japan Super series

After the high of last week's Chinese Taipei Open triumph, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal hit a low as she crashed out of the Japan Super series Badminton tournament with a straight-game defeat in the first round in Tokyo on Wednesday.

The Beijing Olympics quarterfinalist lost 18-21, 16-21 to seventh seed Hong Kong's Mi Zhou in a 30-minute contest.

Zhou will take on local favourite Megumi Taruno, outplayed Canada's Charmaine Reid 21-8, 21-9.

Saina had clinched the prestigious Grand Prix Gold event in Chinese Taipei last week after a fine Olympic debut, in which she beat some higher ranked opponents en route to the quarterfinals.