I want to win an Olympic gold: Saina Nehwal

Sania Nehwal broke the barriers of Indian badminton and strode into the top ten, making her the first female in India to conquer such an glory. Being named as the most promising player of 2008, she is definitely India’s medal prospect for the Commonwealth Games 2010 and the London Olympics in 2012. She speaks to Neil Joshi about her her quest for India’s first Olympic gold in badminton.

Q. The year 2008 was the best year so far in your career. Can you sum it up?
A: It was a great last year. I played continuously for eight-nine months and won crucial matches and also did well in the tournaments. There was lot of improvement and I got a lot of confidence.

Q. On the race to the number one spot?
A: I never expected to be in the top ten when I started playing badminton. I don’t set short-term targets. I just want to put loads of hard work into my play. It is a very long journey. First, I should be targeting the top five. The road ahead is going to be very tough as I will be playing the champions and I have a lot to learn from them.

Q. On parental support?
A: Both my parents have provided me with lots of support during my early days. They use to plat at the club level and they trained me in the evening. I use to train with the academy in the morning and at my father’s office there was a badminton court. I use to work on my shots there.

Q. On high expectations from different quarters for you to perform?
A: There will be lot of expectations from all quarters. People, when they meet me, they say nice words. It feels nice to hear that. But if I have to keep that performance going then I need to train harder. I want to win plenty of medals for my country and for myself.

Q. The gold medal at Beijing eluded you this time. Your comments?
A: Since I was a child, I always had a dream to win gold at the Olympics. Since then, it was my main goal and that still remains.

Q. On cricket taking over other sports?
A: There is no use of playing any other sport except cricket. I have nothing against cricket but all the sponsors run behind cricketers as if there is no other sport played in the country. People only like watching cricket despite it not being an Olympic sport. It is useless playing any other sport because you are not recognised. If we loose in the first round there is no news about us in the media, but it is not the case with cricket.

Q. Solution and the planning for 2010 Commonwealth Games?
A: What we need is the same amount of money given to cricket and a drastic change in the mindset of the sponsors. I just don’t see India winning more than two medals in the London Olympics – probably a gold or a bronze. Forget the hopes of bagging 10-20 medals.

Favourties Fives:
Movie Chak De India
Food Paneer and Naan
Actor Shah Rukh Khan
Book Archie’s
Sportsperson Roger Federer