With his ward Saina Nehwal having attained a career-best World No 3 ranking in the Top Five shuttlers' list released by the Badminton World Federation yesterday, Gopichand is on top of the moon.
Former All-England winner Pullela Gopichand is an extremely proud man. With his ward Saina Nehwal having attained a career-best World No 3 ranking in the Top Five shuttlers' list released by the Badminton World Federation yesterday, Gopichand is on top of the moon.
"It's wonderful for Saina and for Indian badminton. She has done what no Indian has and can only go from strength to strength from here on," Gopichand told MiD DAY yesterday.
Saina, who's career-best till date has been the No 5 spot, jumped three places up from her existing No 6 ranking with some stellar performances recently that saw her clinch the Indian Open Grand Prix followed by the Singapore Open before heading to Jakarta for the Indonesian Open, where she is the defending champion and top seed. Yesterday she advanced to the quarter-finals in Jakarta going past Bulgaria's Petya Nedelcheva 21-9, 21-15.
Saina first made a name internationally by clinching the Philipines Open in 2006 following which she became the first Indian woman to reach the quarter-finals of the Beijing Olympics and won the World Junior Badminton Championships in 2008 after which she pocketed two Super Series events.
However, Gopichand now warned of tougher times ahead. "It's great to be World No 3 but it will be tougher for her to remain there. She has to keep winning and ensure she stays fit. Consistency will be key from here on," he said.
