Saina Nehwal: Indian star of the year

Peel off that exterior and the competitor comes to the surface. The soft and the severe blend nicely in her, and with world class performances to add to the glow, this 20-year-old shuttler was the face of Indian sport in 2010. This, despite some sterling shows by Indians during the year.

Having created history at the Indonesian Open on June 21 2009 by becoming the first Indian to lay claim to a Super Series crown, Saina's success graph hit a new high.

Three more Super Series triumphs and the Commonwealth Games gold has given 'Super' Saina a more permanent membership of the elite club in world badminton. The Asian Games failure is a mere blip.

As the TOI sports team delved deep to dissect performances of Indian sporting heroes in 2010, Saina faced a strong challenge from Sachin Tendulkar, who raised the bar by accomplishing the never-heard-of before feat of a half-century of Test centuries.

Then there was Somdev Devvarman, gold winner in both CWG and the Asian Games, as well as chess king Viswanathan Anand. World wrestling and CWG champion Sushil Kumar, Arjun Atwal (first Indian to win an USPGA Tour event) and Pankaj Advani (Asian Games winner in billiards) make it a real tough competition.

It is a measure of her achievements that Saina still manages to stand out. As the votes were counted, it became a two-horse race between Saina and Sachin. What a year he has had!

In a country where cricket relegates every other sport to mere footnotes, and Sachin straddles the collective consciousness like no other, Saina emerging as the choice for the 'TOI Sportsperson of the Year' is nothing short of stunning.

But, then, no one is surprised anymore that she now commands Rs 1 crore per endorsement, behind only Sachin and MS Dhoni in the sports celebrity market. That absence of astonishment is a statement in itself.

Badminton's Super Series is an examination of one's skills and stamina at the highest level of competition across 12 countries (where such meets are held in a year), and Saina showed striking consistency. She lifted four titles in five attempts - including back-to-back crowns (Indian Open and Singapore Open) - making her the most successful achiever on the circuit.

But, then, the true measure of any sporting success, individual or team, lies also in its afterglow. Saina has been the quintessential catalyst - perhaps more pronouncedly than Sachin this year - in changing the perception of Indian sport.

Rather fittingly, her gold-winning performance against Malaysia's Mew Choo Wong on the Commonwealth Games' final day helped India pip England to second place on the medals tally - the hosts' best-ever performance at the Games.

China have always been the predominant force in world badminton, but the Indian's stupendous rise has induced the fear factor in Chinese rivals. It has all but become a Saina-versus-China contest.

Sachin may have reached the cricketing Everest, Somdev showed up as a new dawn in Indian tennis and Anand has remained the man to beat in world chess. But no Indian has so controlled and coloured the contours of a game in these 12 months as TOI Sportsperson of the Year Saina did. 


article by timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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