from November 12. The deal with Airtel catapults Saina into the club of leading sports and Bollywood celebrities, including Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and A. R. Rahman, who are either associated with the brand or have been in the past.
Gujarat-based Adani Wilmar signed on Saina as its brand ambassador for a one-year period for about 50 lakh INR. The company is also planning to extend the association with her.
In the year 2006, Saina arrived on the global scene the moment she became the first Indian woman to win a 4-star tournament in the Philippines Open. In 2008, she became the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and was also the first Indian woman to reach the quarter-finals in the Olympics.
The Sacrifice of Parents
What does it take to make a badminton star like Saina Nehwal? Well, most of her success was attributed by sacrifice and dedication of her parents; Dr Harvir Singh and Ms. Usha Nehwal. If Saina battles it out on the badminton court against the world’s best players, it has been no less a battle for her father and mother to let her do the same.
Rarely, a middle-class family can think of spending half of the monthly income on an eight-year-old child’s training without knowing if the gamble would pay off. However, Dr. Harvir Singh, a scientist with the Directorate of Oilseeds Research Hyderabad, opted to go by the advice of PSS Nani Prasad Rao, the then badminton coach of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), who saw immense potential in the girl.
Dr. Harvir Singh met Nani Prasad Rao in December, 1998, at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad. Saina accompanied him with a badminton racket on the court. Dr. Singh insisted on admission of his daughter. Rao asked her to play. After watching her game, Rao felt that the girl has the potential. So, he asked Dr. Singh to bring her to him as a summer trainee.
This was the starting of a tough journey for Saina. Saina had to be taken to the stadium everyday early in the morning and the distance from the house was 20 km. It was a challenge for Dr. Singh and Saina. Both had to wake up early so that they could reach the stadium by 6 am. The training session used to last for about two hours.
After attending the training session, Saina had to attend school. Hence, Dr. Singh had to drive his scooter around 50 km daily. He wanted Saina to concentrate on studies apart from attending rigorous practice sessions.
The impact of this tough routine began to show in the first week as Saina would often fall asleep on the back seat. Sensing the danger, Saina’s mother started accompanying them on the two-wheeler. This continued for three months. Ultimately, the family had to arrange a house near the stadium in 1999. This time the distance was about 7 km from the stadium.
But the travelling ordeal did not end here as Saina was asked to attend evening training sessions as well. The extra training session raised the travelling expenditures 150 INR each day. Additionally, the parents had to spend on high quality shuttles, racket, shoes, guttings and a lot more regularly. Dr. Singh spent around 12,000 INR each month to keep his talented daughter going those days.
Was it easy to manage high-cost training?
Dr. Harvir Nehwal
talking to the media
Dr. Singh in an interview had revealed that he had to sacrifice his savings to encourage Saina pursue her passion.
“I started withdrawing money from my provident fund. Sometimes, it was 30,000 INR and other times it was nearly 1 lakh INR. It happened more than five times when I had to shell out money from my PF savings due to Saina’s various requirements,” mentioned Dr. Harvir Singh in an interview.
He stated that the tight-rope walk continued till 2002 until Yonex Sunrise sports offered to sponsor Saina’s kit. The journey became easier with this sponsorship. She also got BPCL support late in the year 2004. Ultimately, she was spotted by Mittal Sports Trust in December,
Gujarat-based Adani Wilmar signed on Saina as its brand ambassador for a one-year period for about 50 lakh INR. The company is also planning to extend the association with her.
In the year 2006, Saina arrived on the global scene the moment she became the first Indian woman to win a 4-star tournament in the Philippines Open. In 2008, she became the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and was also the first Indian woman to reach the quarter-finals in the Olympics.
The Sacrifice of Parents
What does it take to make a badminton star like Saina Nehwal? Well, most of her success was attributed by sacrifice and dedication of her parents; Dr Harvir Singh and Ms. Usha Nehwal. If Saina battles it out on the badminton court against the world’s best players, it has been no less a battle for her father and mother to let her do the same.
Rarely, a middle-class family can think of spending half of the monthly income on an eight-year-old child’s training without knowing if the gamble would pay off. However, Dr. Harvir Singh, a scientist with the Directorate of Oilseeds Research Hyderabad, opted to go by the advice of PSS Nani Prasad Rao, the then badminton coach of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), who saw immense potential in the girl.
Dr. Harvir Singh met Nani Prasad Rao in December, 1998, at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad. Saina accompanied him with a badminton racket on the court. Dr. Singh insisted on admission of his daughter. Rao asked her to play. After watching her game, Rao felt that the girl has the potential. So, he asked Dr. Singh to bring her to him as a summer trainee.
This was the starting of a tough journey for Saina. Saina had to be taken to the stadium everyday early in the morning and the distance from the house was 20 km. It was a challenge for Dr. Singh and Saina. Both had to wake up early so that they could reach the stadium by 6 am. The training session used to last for about two hours.
After attending the training session, Saina had to attend school. Hence, Dr. Singh had to drive his scooter around 50 km daily. He wanted Saina to concentrate on studies apart from attending rigorous practice sessions.
The impact of this tough routine began to show in the first week as Saina would often fall asleep on the back seat. Sensing the danger, Saina’s mother started accompanying them on the two-wheeler. This continued for three months. Ultimately, the family had to arrange a house near the stadium in 1999. This time the distance was about 7 km from the stadium.
But the travelling ordeal did not end here as Saina was asked to attend evening training sessions as well. The extra training session raised the travelling expenditures 150 INR each day. Additionally, the parents had to spend on high quality shuttles, racket, shoes, guttings and a lot more regularly. Dr. Singh spent around 12,000 INR each month to keep his talented daughter going those days.
Was it easy to manage high-cost training?
Dr. Harvir Nehwal
talking to the media
Dr. Singh in an interview had revealed that he had to sacrifice his savings to encourage Saina pursue her passion.
“I started withdrawing money from my provident fund. Sometimes, it was 30,000 INR and other times it was nearly 1 lakh INR. It happened more than five times when I had to shell out money from my PF savings due to Saina’s various requirements,” mentioned Dr. Harvir Singh in an interview.
He stated that the tight-rope walk continued till 2002 until Yonex Sunrise sports offered to sponsor Saina’s kit. The journey became easier with this sponsorship. She also got BPCL support late in the year 2004. Ultimately, she was spotted by Mittal Sports Trust in December,
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