No hurdles for Saina
Author: Sportstar Weekly
Date: 10 Feb 2007
Category: World News
In the absence of the nine-time champion Aparna Popat the
women's field lacked depth. As a result, Saina Nehwal had an easy run to her
maiden National title. K. Keerthivasan reports.
The question on everybody's lips was whether the Bihar
Badminton Association (BBA) would be able to conduct the BSNL
Inter-state/Inter-zonal and Senior National Championships in Patna without any
major hitches. The doubts were genuine and no malice was intended, for the last
time the BBA hosted the Mini Nationals in 2002, the roof of the indoor stadium
was not complete, while the flooring was hastily done. Consequently, the
association drew a lot of flak from the players.
This time, however, the BBA had done its homework well.
The Secretariat Sports Club and the Physical College (where the Mini Nationals
were held) had perfect playing conditions. And the players and the coaches were
all praise for BBA's efficiency.
So, the conditions were ideal for Saina Nehwal (PSPB) and
the 17-year-old girl from Hyderabad displayed wonderful anticipation, speed and
power to claim her maiden women's title. Twice before, Saina lost to Aparna
Popat in the final.
In the absence of Aparna, the nine-time champion, who
withdrew citing a wrist injury, the women's field lacked depth. Fresh from her
remarkable run in 2006, when she won the Philippines Open and the Indian Open,
Saina was in ominous form. But to be honest, Saina was rarely tested in either
the team event or the Open Nationals.
B. R. Meenakshi (PSPB) has the potential and a game
similar to Saina's, but lacks the tactical and mental attributes to match the
Hyderabad girl.
Another gifted player, Trupti Murgunde, many observers
feel, is also capable of challenging Saina in the long run provided she works
on her fitness and court movements.
Aditi Mutatkar (PSPB) fought Saina tooth and nail in the
Open National final. A wonderfully deceptive player, Aditi gave the top-seeded
Saina a scare in the first game. She showed that she could emerge as a worthy
challenger to Saina in the near future.
While power and fitness are Saina's strengths, deception
and wrist play were perceived to be her weak points. However, the variations
she showed against Aditi, especially in the second game, proved her detractors
wrong. Saina played hard and fast, giving Aditi little time to work on her
strategies.
Saina's international calendar this year is packed. After
the National Games in Guwahati, she will play in the German Open, All-England
Championship and the ABC Senior Championship.
Saina has the potential to excel in international
tournaments. "I keep losing in the pre-quarterfinals and the
quarterfinals. I hope to improve my performance in the international
tournaments," she said.
Chetan Anand seemed to have lost form, after winning the
Hyderabad Nationals in 2004. In the subsequent Nationals in Jamshedpur, he lost
to Utsav Mishra in the quarterfinals, and in Bangalore last year he bowed out
to Arvind Bhat in the semifinals. This year, Chetan made a conscious decision
to train with coach S. M. Arif and Govardhan Reddy and did not take part in any
tournament for a couple of months leading up to the Nationals. His decision
paid off.
Throughout the Nationals, Chetan was ruthless against his
opponents. The only player who troubled him was Ajay Jayaram of Maharashtra. In
the team and Open events, Ajay, 19, extended Chetan to three games.
The men's losing finalist Anand Pawar has a neat and
sharp game, both at the net and from the backcourt. However, Chetan hardly gave
him any leeway in the final.
The defeat of the top-seed and two-time champion Anup
Sridhar (PSPB) was shocking. In the quarterfinals against Ravinder Singh of
Uttar Pradesh, the elegant Anup appeared to be cruising before cracking under
pressure much to everybody's surprise. He made some uncharacteristic unforced
errors at the net, conceding crucial points.
Ravinder, to his credit, played without any inhibition.
He kept the pressure on Anup. From 17-18 in the decider, Ravinder, who trains
at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, reeled off four points in a row to
create the biggest upset of the championship.
Will Aparna comeback?
Aparna Popat equalled Prakash Padukone's record of nine
consecutive National titles in Bangalore last year. Some observers indicated
that Bangalore could perhaps be her last Nationals. Ganguly Prasad, the SAI
coach in Bangalore, said "Aparna has nothing much to prove in the
Nationals" and that in the forthcoming season or so, she might concentrate
on international tournaments to improve her ranking.
Talking to this writer from Mumbai late last month,
Aparna said she hadn't made up her mind as to when she would resume training.
She said she needed some more time to recover from her wrist injury.
For all you know, Aparna might come back in the next
Nationals - to surpass Padukone's record.
Ideal pair
Chetan Anand and Jwala Gutta make an ideal husband-wife
pair. During Chetan's matches, one could always spot Jwala shouting words of
encouragement and giving suggestions to her husband. Jwala, a very good doubles
player, kept motivating Chetan whenever she was not playing. During the prize
distribution function, photographers kept clicking pictures of Chetan and Jwala
kissing the men's singles trophy.
Players' welfare?
When the quarterfinal and semifinal matches of the
Nationals were scheduled for the same day, the officials came in for severe
criticism from some former players and coaches. Vimal Kumar, former
International and former National coach, argued that sufficient rest should be
given to the players. "They (the referees) could have had the quarterfinals
a day before the semifinals. Only when you give rest to the players can you see
quality matches," he said.
S. Muralidharan, international referee and vice-president of the Badminton Association of India, said the argument of the former players and coaches was valid. He also said that he planned to take up the issue at the next BAI AGM or with the technical delegates.
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