Time to reinvent

It is time Saina Nehwal pays heed to the advice of elders from the fraternity who wish that she takes a break till she is mentally and physically refreshed and motivated in time for the Thomas and Uber Cup and next year’s CWG.

In the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) the focal point of debate (apart from the scandals that broke out by the hour) pertained to the most logical off-shoot of the extravaganza because it touched the nation’s psyche and questioned the conscience of the cricketers-are the players more than loyal to their respective money-spinning franchises while giving a damn to national interest?

This essentially stemmed from the brazen performances dished out by the players in Test and ODI matches while the same ‘gentlemen’ dazzled in the IPL with their scintillating pyrotechnics and incredulously entertaining stunners in the middle.

Taking a leaf from cricket and IPL, it becomes relevant to raise the same question in the context of the sport that has occupied the second position in the national popularity charts, badminton.

Retracing the Country vs Club debate and its relevance to badminton, the one player who comes under the radar is none other than Saina Nehwal.

It goes without saying that 2013 has been a near-disaster for Nehwal after achieving stupendous highs in the last two seasons.

Last year, apart from the historic Olympic bronze, she enjoyed a career high ranking that got boosted following a slew of Super Series title triumphs.

Even after taking cognizance of the routinely stale defenses that every sportsperson undergoes a lean period, it becomes somewhat incredibly outlandish to imagine that one could touch rock bottom and stay there for an entire season, despite possessing an enviously proven track-record.

There is no denying that 2013 has been an abysmal one even in the absence of prominent Chinese shuttlers. It has been so mediocre that Nehwal failed to defend any one of the titles.

More tragically, she was blown out of the courts by rank outsiders and those who never could dream of upsetting her applecart!

Although many might cry foul, the fact remains that Nehwal has always been a bad loser. The toner changes to dramatic levels within a span of 24 hours that is immediately after posting a handsome win in one round and getting thrashed in the next.

"I am in good form. I was in complete control of the game," gets translated to ‘the injury and pain made it tough in the courts.’

Her critics are not wrong when they question the player who never gives credit to her conqueror, which is a sad irony. For instance, after settling for the bronze in London, she felt ‘hurt when people opined that I did not earn the medal. When people talk that way, I don't feel good. I couldn't believe it when I heard some people say those things.’

Coming back to the present year, it is somewhat quixotic that she was in her elements and at her breathtaking best when turning up for Hyderabad Hotshots in the inaugural season of Indian Badminton League (IBL).

Not only did she win all her seven matches but also inspired the team to the title with her awesome exploits.

Of course, she has it in her to consistently brave the odds and come up trumps as she has been doing since the time she burst on to the international firmament as a prodigiously gifted teenager who was destined to be firmly ensconced in the big league.

The question doing the rounds is on whether she is getting distracted by recent developments and the emergence of talents like P V Sindhu, who has been showing nerves of steel while toppling formidable Chinese opponents and those like world No 6 Ji Hyun Sung of Korea, who had earlier made mincemeat of the Khel Ratna awardee.

Of course, in their own head-to-head IBL showdowns Nehwal had no qualms in showing who the shuttle queen was. Her downslide began immediately after the IBL the downslide, which ironically were in events where the stakes were enormous and mattered more from a professional point of view.

Refreshed and rejuvenated, her battle cry just ahead of the Super series was typical.

"I was tired after the IBL. I had a good break, trained hard for the last one and half months and I am fit now."

There is a loss of self-confidence somewhere down the line or maybe she has failed to judge the full value of the champion materials emerging from outside of China and places like Thailand.

In the circumstances, it is time she pays heed to the advice of elders from the fraternity who wish that she takes a break till she is mentally and physically refreshed and ready for the Thomas and Uber Cup and next year’s Commonwealth Games.

Today when one looks at her performances this year, the only notable aspects have been the IBL experience and her getting named as the Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Barring these there has been nothing substantial to write home about. Of course there will be arguments that cricket is a team event while badminton is not.

However, looking pragmatically at the larger picture, winning an international title in an individual event will propel India onto the world stage and the player gets the prize-money whereas a success in events like IBL will go to an entity, which in this case is the franchise.

One fondly hopes that Saina Nehwal will retrospect, regroup her resources and start winning titles while putting an end to the hogwash from the prophets of doom.