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74 pages

English

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. . . being a player from India defines who I am. When I play, it s for my parents, my coach, and my country. Meet Saina Nehwal India s star badminton player and World Number 4, Padma Shri and Khel Ratna awardee, the girl who brought laurels to India by winning an Olympic medal at the age of twenty-two. In this fascinating memoir, she talks about her childhood and growing up years; her relationship with the most important people in her life; the ups and downs of her celebrated career, from district level wins to the Olympics; and the sacrifices needed to succeed in any sport. She also reveals little-known facts and offers a peek into her many avatars daughter, sister, student, and the regular girl behind the badminton prodigy. Find out what a typical day in Saina s life is like rigorous training, a strict diet, and no parties or sleepovers. But it s not all work and no play; Saina loves to shop, eat ice cream (post wins only), and play games on her iPad! With candid photographs and badminton tips from the pro herself, this book showcases the making of a badminton champ in her own words.

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Lettres et linguistique

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Publié par	Penguin Books Ltd
Date de parution	15 décembre 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9788184759150
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0350€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

SAINA NEHWAL
Playing to Win

PENGUIN BOOKS
Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Acknowledgements
Copyright Page
For Papa, for his sacrifices, Mummy, for believing I could be an Olympian, and Abu, my big sister and closest friend.
Birth Date
17 March 1990
Stays In
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
From
Hisar, Haryana
Family
Dr Harvir Singh ( Father ) Usha Nehwal ( Mother ) Abu Chandranshu ( Sister )
Plays
Badminton, Singles
Best Rank
World Number 2 (2010)
Current Rank *
World Number 4 (2012)
Matches Played *
278
Matches Won *
193
Works As
Deputy Manager at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
Awards
Youngest player in the world to win a four-star tournament in badminton, certified by the Limca Book of Records (2007)

Eddie Choong Most Promising Player of the Year Award by

Badminton World Federation (2008)

Sportsperson of the Year by CNN-IBN (2009)

Sportsperson of the Year by NDTV (2009)

Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated India (2009)

Youngest Achiever in Sports by Sahara India Awards (2009)

Arjuna Award (2009)

Lakshya Bharti Foundation Award for Contribution in the

Field of Sports (2009)

India Glory Award by the Indian School of Economics (2009)

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Award (2009)

Teacher s Achievement Award for Contribution in Sports (2009)

MSN Sportsperson of the Year (2009)

The Times of India Readers Choice Sportsperson of the Year (2010)

Andhra Gaurav Award (2010)

Padma Shri (2010)

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2010)
Honorary
Filmnagar Club, Hyderabad
Memberships
Kerala Club, Calicut Assam Club, Guwahati Mumbai Cricket Club Bombay Gymkhana
Likes
Aloo paranthas; Paneer butter masala; Mummy s full milk chai; Thai food; Shopping; Reading; Sketching; Sudoku; Bollywood films; Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Sumo Wrestling, Talking Tom on iPad
The court was packed and I remember thinking, Wow! This is like a cricket match!
I was playing on home ground and the crowd was cheering wildly. I knew that there were several famous people in the audience watching me that day. Rahul Gandhi was there, and so were Prime Minister Manmohan Singh s wife Gursharan Kaur and Meira Kumar, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. My parents had flown in too, and all the Indian athletes who were still in Delhi were also watching. It was one of the best audiences I would ever play for. It was the Commonwealth Games 2010, at Siri Fort, New Delhi.
For the first time, an Indian had reached the badminton finals at these games and there was so much pressure on me. I was to play against the Malaysian shuttler, Wong Mew Choo. She was ranked World Number 16 and I was Number 3, but I knew that at this stage, ranks didn t matter. We would both be playing our best game and the match could turn in anybody s favour.
I had played against Mew Choo thrice that very year and had beaten her each time. Even at the CWG, I had recently beaten her at a team event and the odds favoured me. But she was there to win. We were in the finals of the Commonwealth Games after all, when each one comes prepared for a battle. The first set went quite steadily but I lost at 19-21. So close! Then the second set started. It would be a crucial set. I had to keep every point I could and the tension was palpable. I quickly took the lead, but soon Mew Choo was trailing right behind. For every point I made, she made one too. Before I knew it, we were 18-18. If she won this set, I would lose the game. I moved up to 19-18, but she caught up with me. I scored another point and the score was 20-19. She again fought back and we were 20-20. All too soon, she was leading 21-20. For Mew Choo, this was match point.
The game was slipping away from me and I was extremely tense. I wondered in those brief moments whether I would have to settle for a silver. The crowd was chanting my name. India, India! and Go Saina! were all I could hear, and I knew I couldn t let go of this point. I caught up with Mew Choo at 21-21, and in the next few minutes, I was leading at 22-21. Would she catch up once more? It was make or break time for me. She had no intention of giving up the game, and it showed on her face and in her body language. And then came her stroke that landed on the net. I won the set 23-21!
For Mew Choo to win the match, she had to aim for straight sets. She knew it, and so did I. Now, she was tired and I could see that. But I was still going strong. As the third set progressed, my strokes were all over the court. I realized that Mew Choo would tire quickly if she had to keep running from one end to the other. That was my strategy, and it worked. I led right from the start, and the gap between our points kept increasing. At one point we were 12-7, and within minutes the score was 14-9. Much as Mew Choo tried to keep up, I was able to keep her from getting too close. At 17-12, I had a 5-point lead and took advantage of that. Mew Choo was making costly mistakes and I made it to 19-12. Then, with a lead of 21-13, it was game, set, match for me!
What a moment that was! People were cheering away, running around carrying the Indian flag. I also circled the court, shaking hands with the spectators. And then it was time for the medal ceremony. I felt elated when my name was called and I walked over to take the gold medallist s spot. As the Indian National Anthem played, everyone present sang it with me. I still get goosebumps when I think of it.
I had won a gold for India! With this gold, we were now in the second spot in the medals tally, a first for our country. And I couldn t have been more proud!
1
Every afternoon, my parents would walk down to the faculty club at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, where they would play badminton. My sister Abu and I would also go along, and I would usually be asleep. Abu, who is seven years older than me, would carry me while my parents played. Papa remembers that when I was six months old, apparently I shrieked with laughter and followed the shuttle back and forth, thoroughly enjoying the game. I used to be such a serious baby; it was the first time they had heard me laugh like that!
While that s a nice memory, my actual entry into the game was not all that dramatic. I was born in Haryana and spent my early childhood in Hisar, where my father worked as a scientist at the Haryana Agricultural University. We lived in the married people s quarters assigned to Papa. Abu and I went to school right there on the campus. My life was no different from that of the other kids. From 8.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. I would be at school. After lunch, I was almost always outside the house. I loved being outdoors and playing outdoors, and living in the campus of the Agricultural University, that was one thing we had plenty of. I climbed trees, played cricket and catch-just about any game that kept me out of the house.
When I was eight, Papa was selected as principal scientist at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which required his transfer to Hyderabad. The whole family shifted there. The year was 1998. I missed my school, my friends, and games quite a lot. Also, Hyderabad was a totally new city and Telugu was a language none of us was familiar with. What s more, we d shifted during the summer holidays, so I got really bored sitting at home. My parents saw that and enrolled me in a karate class nearby. For a year I learnt karate, going to class for an hour even after school started. I managed to get a brown belt as well! At this level, one of the things we had to do was hold our breath and balance a heavy weight on our stomach. In my case, the heavy weight was a man weighing 90 kg! When he stepped on my stomach, I could not hold my breath and exhaled. That was a mistake, as I had severe stomach pain for several days afterwards. That put an end to my karate lessons. Looking back, I imagine that that year s worth of karate perhaps made me a little more flexible, but I could well be wrong.
The following summer, Papa heard of a badminton summer camp being organized by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. He decided to enrol me there. As I had said earlier, both Mummy and Papa had played badminton at Hisar, with Mummy having played for Haryana state as well. They love the game and that s probably why this camp caught Papa s eye. Anyway, Papa and I were at the Lal Bahadur Stadium early the next morning to meet the coaches, P.S.S. Nani Prasad and S.L. Goverdhan Reddy, both very senior and respected players. To Papa s dismay, we were told that selections for the camp were over. Papa would not take no for an answer and looking back, I must say thank God for that! He was determined to get me into the camp, and requested the coaches to give me a chance and see my game. Surprisingly, the coaches agreed and I went on court. I had played a little badminton earlier but at that time, to me it was just another game. That morning, I think I was plain lucky because my first stroke was a lovely smash! Both Nani sir and Goverdhan sir were impressed and the next thing I knew, I had a place in the summer camp.
For the one month that followed, I went to badminton camp every morning. Mummy would take me to Lal Bahadur Stadium. It was quite far from where we lived and I had to wake up really, really early to be there on time. Initially, I found the whole experience very new and a little strange. I had never attended a summer camp before and now I had to do exercises like 400-metre run, skipping, running up and down the stairs, cross-country racing of some 4-5 km I was working out for the first time in my life and it took me quite a while to get used to it. To top it all, Mummy decided that training in the mornings alone was not enough. So every afternoon, we would practise at home. She would teach me the game, the strokes and tell me