SAINA HAS THE HUNGER TO WIN LIKE FEDERER, SAYS VIMAL
U. Vimal Kumar always singles out the 2006 Commonwealth Games when you ask him about Saina Nehwal. Having seen her playing as a junior, it was the then national coach Vimal who
gave Saina the international break. And the energetic then 15-year-old came out with flying colours. Following that she
also went on to win the Philippines Open. Vimal has seen it all from being an active teen, ready to compete against anyone, to reaching the World No.1 status. “Saina was sitting
next to me and watching a match. Aparna was playing the defending champion and losing in the team matches. Saina said if i get a chance I can beat that girl. It was not arrogance but
confidence,” he recalled. “We gave her a chance as Aparna developed a painful wrist, and she beat all the top
players. She pulled off her matches and for the first time
we won a bronze.” Vimal believes that Saina still
has the “fierce drive and hunger” that have helped her go so far. “It is a great achieve
ment and very creditable. Personally I feel very happy for her because she was literally in tears when she was losing, that frustration you can see when you go through those times. Now she has to maintain that intensity and focus because it is tougher to be there at the top,”
he said. “It is her effort, she has got a good work ethic. when you see that desire to excel that only a few have, like Roger Federer or
Rafael Nadal, they have achieved so much but still wants to be the best. I see that
drive in Saina.” Drawing a comparison between
the legendary Prakash Padukone and Saina, Vimal said: “Prakash had limitation when he was playing at that level. He was very intelligent. He had a subtle wrist, he was
very good at the net but he didn’t have a big hit and lacked
fitness compared to the Chinese and Indonesians. Compared to that, Saina has the power but she has to bring
in the variations that Prakash had. So we are working on that
with her at the academy. Sometimes a small change can make a difference. She is making some small variations, she is
analysing on her own and I want her to do that more and
more in future. She will win many more titles,” he added.