Hyderabad, June 27 (IANS) Saina Nehwal winning the Indonesian Open Super Series, her third straight title, is ‘amazing’, says Pullela Gopichand, the badminton player’s coach and former All England Champion.
‘It’s a fabulous open. Winning three tournaments is really amazing,’ Gopichand told IANS after Saina won her third badminton title in three weeks, including two successive Super Series titles.
‘I spoke to her after she won the title. She was very happy though little tired,’ said Gopichand, who runs the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy here.
The World No.3 defeated a fighting Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the final at Jakarta Sunday.
The victory came close on the heels of the 20-year-old making history by becoming the first Indian woman to be ranked World No. 3.
With more points after her third successive title, she is expected to be ranked No.2 by the Badminton World Federation this week.
‘Mentally I am motivated and hopefully I will be able to win tomorrow,’ Gopichand had quoted Saina as saying before the final.
She also said the new world ranking had not put any pressure on her game. ‘I am playing well. I hope to play well in future. Currently I am not thinking about my ranking. I am concentrating on my practice and game,’ she said.
Gopichand is confident that Saina’s victory would encourage more youngsters to take to badminton. ‘The future of Indian badminton looks good,’ said Gopichand, who is grooming many players at his academy.
‘I hope there will be more sponsorship for the game and there will be more badminton players,’ he said.
