Saina Nehwal ranks third among the top singles badminton players in the world and is the only Indian to have reached the singles quarter finals at the Olympics, and won the World Junior Badminton Championships in 2008. 20 year old Saina Nehwal’s three titles in three weeks is a phenomenal achievement for the Indian sport. Before winning in Jakarta, which was her third Super Series title overall, Saina had won the India Open Grand Prix at home and the Singapore Open Super Series tournament. So what made Saina Nehwal a success. What are the life lessons for us from her phenomenal success in such a short time.
Support from family/friends
Self belief of parents-
- Harvir Singh, a Scientist with the Directorate of Oilseeds Research Hyderabad, opted to go by the advice of Nani Prasad Rao, the then badminton coach of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), who saw immense potential in the girl.
Support and sacrifice
- Saina ‘s father had to drive the scooter 50 km daily to take Saina to the training session and then to school. The impact of this tough routine began to show in the first week as Saina would often fall asleep on the back seat. Sensing the danger, Saina’s mother started accompanying them on the two-wheeler. This continued for three months.
- Ultimately, the family had to arrange a house near the stadium in 1999. This time the distance was about 7 km from the stadium.
- His father was forced to withdraw money from his provident fund to finance Saina’s training and equipment needs. He stated that the tight-rope walk continued till 2002 until Yonex Sunrise sports offered to sponsor Saina’s kit.
- He never disclosed his financial difficulties to Saina fearing that she might get disturbed knowing that her father was left with no savings for the future.
Inheritance
- Her foray into the world of badminton was influenced by her father Dr. Harvir Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad and her mother Usha Nehwal, both of whom were former badminton champions in Haryana.
- The parents either ignore their expertise and its influence on the child or force their expertise/career choice and try to influence the career of their the children..leading to forced rebellion from them. They should be exposed to the various options and then it should be left to the children to make a career choice.
Sacrifice
- You need to sacrifice a lot to achieve something, according to Saina "… one needs to have conviction, zeal and strong resolve to train and learn. And one has to be watchful of a healthy diet and fitness regime, which means absolutely no fast food and more salads and proteins."
- Saina has never been to any party, any restaurant or cinema in the past seven years.
- Saina herself put her success down to the financial sacrifices made by her parents and her own dedication to a rigorous training regime that left her exhausted and out of pocket.
Sheer hard wok
- There are no short cuts
- In the case of Saina, success has been achieved through sheer hard work. Like Prakash, she may not be the most talented player India has produced, but in terms of focus and determination, the two have no peer. Saina said at a press conference, “I have been training very hard and with more hard work I am sure to reach the top. I want to stay focused at my game to become number one. It is important for me to make my country proud."
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Focus
- The key to Saina’s Success is simple. Know and set your goal. Stick to one goal – if you chase two rabbits, both will escape. Knowing the goal clearly is crucial. People with a goal succeed because they know where they are going..
- "This year there is the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and also the Asian Games. So I will be working towards that. I did not expect to reach number three ranking, but have reached there and I am quite confident I can also reach number one position." - Saina shows her focus and determination
- Saina stated that she does not believe in having foreign coaches and said, "I don't believe in all that. It is more self-belief. You have to believe in yourself."
Humility and willingness to learn and improve
- The 20-year-old, however, feels that there is enough space for further improvement.
- "A player is never perfect. You have to work hard to keep on improving every time. I have to improve my defence, net, backhands and forehands. I should work on the areas where I am weak," she said.
- "May be, the coach will tell me to improve my defence, which is a weak area. I am a good attacking player," she added.
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