Saina Nehwal is on top of the world.
Saina Nehwal is on top of the world. The queen of Indian badminton on Monday added yet another feather to an already-crowded cap after it was announced that she will be conferred with one of India’s highest civilian honours — the Padma Bhushan.
The Padma Bhushan is awarded for ‘distinguished service of a high order’, and after Saina’s exploits over the last 12 months, one can hardly begrudge the 25-year-old this honour.
And she couldn’t emphasise enough just how thrilled she was on receiving this award.
“It’s a great, great honour and I’m very, very, very happy,” Saina said.
“I would like to dedicate this award to (coach) Vimal Kumar sir. He is the one who transformed me over the last year or so. I’ve become the player I am right now only because of him,” she said.
Saina, who’s in a race to get fully fit after sustaining an Achilles injury recently, said this news came as a surprise. “I wasn’t expecting this one bit. Several sportspersons have done extremely well in various disciplines. So I was just content with my results. I thought I’d just train and work hard and leave this decision to the Government of India.
After winning the China Open in 2014, Saina has been on a rampage. She won the Syed Modi Grand Prix in Lucknow and her maiden India Open Superseries title before an adoring home crowd in Delhi. She also reached the finals of the World Championships, All England Open as well as the China Open Superseries. “The year went by so fast it feels like I did all that only yesterday. It all feels surreal. This (award) gives me impetus to do well in the future as well.”
