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Among the many feathers in Saina Nehwal's cap is Nehwal's rave achievement of being the first shuttler to bring an Olympic medal for India in badminton. Clinching a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, Saina Nehwal made Indian badminton a part of Olympic history indelibly.
The feisty, Hisar-born girl immediately made everyone sit up and take notice as she conquered the courts. Creating ripples on the BWF circuit, Saina Nehwal ushered in a new era of Indian badminton, inspiring several youngsters to pick up the racquet.
While there are far too many accolades to the former World No.1's name, Saina Nehwal's contribution to the growth of the sport has been immense.
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However, the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist is currently struggling to find her form, in a largely injury-peppered career. With uncertainties pertaining to the remaining trio of Olympic qualifying tournaments, Saina Nehwal's chances of making it to the Tokyo Olympics appear rather bleak.
Holding the No. 22 spot in the Race to Tokyo rankings, it is a near-impossible task for Saina Nehwal to qualify for her fourth straight Olympics now.
While a certain fogginess still hangs in the air pertaining to Saina Nehwal's qualification chances, let us recall her key Olympic moments.
# Saina Nehwal's quarter-final finish at her very first Olympics [2008]
Riding on the high of having bagged the World Junior Championship title, a spirited Saina Nehwal headed into her first Olympics in Beijing. All of 18, with energy coursing through her veins, Nehwal looked ready to take on the world as she made her Olympic debut.
Putting up an impressive showing in the group stage matches, Nehwal surpassed Asian Games gold medallist Wang Chen en route to the last 16. Booking a date with Indonesian veteran Maria Kristin Yulianti for the quarter-finals, Nehwal signed up for a thrilling clash. As luck would have it, Nehwal failed to convert during the key moments of the match, a fact she regrets till date, and ended up losing, 28-26, 14-21, 15-21.
“I don't know what happened. Maybe I made a lot of mistakes. I'll be much more prepared next time. I'll be much more experienced,” a heart-broken Saina Nehwal had vowed after the loss.
Despite a cause of heartbreak for Nehwal, the Haryanvi was particularly impressive, winning an intense first game, 28-26 and even taking the lead in the deciding game, 11-3. However, given that it was her Olympic debut, Nehwal's quarter-final stint only foretold her bronze medal in London four years later.
# Saina Nehwal features in a thriller against Tine Baun [2012]
Vowing to come back stronger and with more experience, the 2012 London Olympics saw a determined Saina Nehwal take on the Wembley courts. By then, Nehwal had indeed grown exponentially as a player.
Entering London after picking up title wins at the Thailand Open and the Indonesia Open, Nehwal was keen on avenging her 2008 loss.
Playing her usual style of firebrand badminton in the earlier rounds, Saina Nehwal faced Denmark's Tine Baun in the quarter-finals in London. The first 16 minutes of the match went smoothly and Nehwal rallied and smashed to bag the game, 21-15. Into the second game, the match notched itself up as the 3-time All England Open champion, Baun, decided to give her Indian opponent a hard time.
With three game points, the lanky Danish player was in the mood to drag the match into a decider. However, at this juncture, Saina Nehwal rose to the occasion, fighting off the pressure with sheer perseverance and managed to seize the match.
After a nail-biting affair of 29 minutes, Saina Nehwal was well on her way to her maiden semi-final against China's Wang Yihan, winning 21-15, 22-20.
# Saina Nehwal's podium moment at the Olympics [2012]
Saina Nehwal has a lot of firsts associated with her name yet the most special has to be her Olympic bronze medal from London in 2012. Having overcome a daunting challenge from Tine Baun in the quarters, Nehwal met with Chinese ace Wang Yihan in the semi-finals.
Yihan proved to be too strong and demanding for Nehwal and pushed the then 22-year-old Indian player to her extremes. Unable to find her footing in the match, Nehwal ended up losing the semi-final, 21-13, 21-13.
Following this clash was the bronze medal match-up that featured Nehwal against another Chinese, Wang Xin.
The match was tense and gruelling to begin with and saw Xin clinching the first game, 21-18 before badly hurting her knee. Despite beginning with the second game and even taking a 1-0 lead, Xin failed to continue and gave a walkover.
"I am very happy that I won a medal, but I can’t forget that match (Beijing). It is very difficult to forget that because I could have reached the semi-finals in my first attempt and I lost it," Saina Nehwal had commented.
With that, history was created for India as Saina Nehwal became the first Indian badminton player to bag an Olympic bronze medal. Nehwal had lived up to her own promise and paved the path for PV Sindhu to come and claim her silver, four years later at Rio.
