World Championships: Saina Nehwal, 32, demonstrates that she still has fighting spirit

Saina Nehwal’s smile as she approached her 21-19, 21-9 victory was not the proverbial ‘enjoying the final phase of her career’ type. Winning has always been laborious, difficult, and simply exhausting.

Badminton isn’t a game where smooth movements, physical prowess, or talented strokeplay can help her impose herself on the game and revel in her opponent’s defeat. Badminton will continue to be a battle for Nehwal until the match is won.

So, when she smiled and stuck her tongue out in relief after a particularly ferocious rally against Cheung Ngan Yi, it was a sheepish admission that the preceding fast exchange had properly shredded her nerves in her World Championship Round 1.

So, when she smiled and stuck her tongue out in relief after a particularly ferocious rally against Cheung Ngan Yi, it was a sheepish admission that the preceding fast exchange had properly shredded her nerves in her World Championship Round 1.

After eking out the first set, the 32-year-old was leading by a large margin in the second. Cheung had made mistakes, and her lengths were all over the place. Nonetheless, she got stuck into the Indian during this rally.

🇮🇳 @NSaina cruised into the Round of 32 post a comfortable win in R64 of the #BWFWorldChampionships2022 🔥👌#BWFWorldChampionships#Tokyo2022#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/XH3ivEGDFa

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) August 23, 2022

Cheung kept retrieving a dozen downward scythes from Nehwal’s front court, sending her returns to get the Indian scurrying and baiting her into a smashing error. Nehwal finally got one past Cheung after what seemed like an eternity of that frustrating feeling where a retrieving machine wears down an attack by being stubborn. The Indian would shake her head, stick out her tongue, and smile at coach P Kashyap, exhausted by the rally’s efforts. Even a first-round victory in her 12th World Championships match against a 29-year-old would demand a pound of tired flesh.

Nehwal is at the point in her injury-plagued career where each World Championship match could be her last. This was a battle of minds between the seasoned shuttlers, both wracked by patched-up battle wounds, holding on at World No.33 and No.50, and who wouldn’t fall apart first. Kashyap sat hunched with his head in his hands at one point, and Cheung’s coach sunk back in his chair, feet and hands crossed, resigned to the fact that their instructions could only push their players so far.

As Cheung fled the prospect of a forecourt duel with a very sharp Indian, Nehwal was winning the war of deceptive clears from either end. Her cross-court drops and the occasional smash were sufficient against the Hong Kong player, who was clearly suffering from previous injury issues. But it was her front-court low retrieving that surprised many.

The enigmatic mystery of movement

With what critics call her lumbersome, slow court coverage, Saina Nehwal has always perplexed badminton fans as to how she achieved success at the highest levels. “She has a lot of good qualities, but good footwork (movement) isn’t one of them,” observes commentator Steen Pedersen. She isn’t the tallest, her steps appear heavy, and Nehwal has the appearance of someone who will invariably struggle to reach the shuttle. Despite this, she has always been able to execute a precise lunge at the net, preventing opponents from using the forehand far corner to attack her.

On Tuesday, she shattered half of Cheung’s resolve by returning most shuttles at the net, forcing clears that she easily pounced on from mid-court to backcourt. Kashyap refutes the notion that Nehwal’s court coverage is a flaw.

“I don’t think they’re entirely correct. She’s always been a good mover (even before). “Shuttles don’t return magically,” he claims. “I agree she’s not smooth. But when she’s in shape, she’s quite good.”

While most experts look to the stride and the feet to determine speed, Kashyap believes it is her brain and hands that alleviate those concerns. “Anticipation and comprehension are excellent. Her strokes aren’t the most elegant, but regardless of the (court) conditions, whether fast, slow, or windy, her hands are steady and she doesn’t make easy errors. “That’s just good control and awareness,” he adds.

Even after the match was over, the scoldings continued. During the break, he would instruct her to form a crouching stance when receiving serve so that she does not appear to be standing aimlessly.

It was just the remnants of an earlier quarrel after the match in 37 minutes.

“She needs to get off to a better start.” She was nervous at the start and almost the entire first game, trying to adjust to the circumstances.

“She needs to sort out her service options and be clear about it,” he would later say.

Throughout the match, however, he kept making the same suggestion. “It’s just to keep her tactical discipline,” he explained.

What is the motivation?

It has been speculated that Saina Nehwal continues to play at the age of 32 despite having checked off the majority of the boxes that her abilities allowed. She is a former World No. 1, has two World Championship medals (silver and bronze), holds the Indian record for most Tour titles, and was India’s first Olympic medalist in the sport. Why, as a two-time Commonwealth champion, would she cry herself to sleep at night if she wasn’t chosen for this one?

All she knows is badminton, and all she desires is to win. Nehwal clearly believes she has some gas left in the tank, and she has an impressive ambition to challenge the sport’s top names.

The body rarely supports that intent, but when she’s in shape, she can tangle up opponents and make them fall over with her carefully crafted deception.

In a match, she’s simply a bright mind. So some things never change. Cross-flicks at the net with a wisened sure wrist and drop shots at neatly varied angles continue to earn her points. Her decision-making is flawless; she even signalled one that went wide herself, with stretched arms, and moved on to the next point without lingering on the over-hit.

The lunge is precise, and Nehwal was all class at 17-8 in the second: Cheung had bottled herself up in the far corner, and the Indian had an open court to go for a smash kill. Instead, she scooped it closer to the net, preventing a rush of blood. The net chord briefly halted the shuttle, and Saina Nehwal immediately apologised to her opponent for that stroke of luck, as is customary in the sport.

It baffles her why people want her off the court when she’s paying for her trips and trying to win matches against top players. Of course, it surprised her that she wasn’t trusted to bring India’s second CWG medal in women’s singles. But mostly, Saina Nehwal can’t figure out why people are deciding it’s time for her to leave the sport. She believes she owes nothing to anyone. It will be another nail-biter when he faces Busanan Ongbamrungphan in round 3. She’ll play to her strengths once more, smile through the mistakes, and on good days, beat a top opponent.