Saina Nehwal Enters SemiFinals in Olympics, Saina Nehwal Latest News 2012, About Saina Nehwal, Saina Nehwal Olympics News, Saina Nehwal Loses in Semifinal

Saina Nehwal Enters SemiFinals in Olympics, Saina Nehwal Latest News 2012, About Saina Nehwal, Saina Nehwal Olympics News, Saina Nehwal Loses in Semifinal

Saina Nehwal Wins Bronze, First Indian medal in Badminton ever in Olympics

London: Saina Nehwal on saturday created history by becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic Games bronze medal in badminton, though under fortuitous circumstances, as her world number two Chinese opponent retired from the play-off because of a knee injury.

The 22-year-old Saina was trailing 18-21, 0-1 in the high-voltage bronze medal play-off match when her second seeded opponent Xin Wang retired hurt, giving India an unexpected medal without having to sweat much. Saina also became the second Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, after Karnam Malleswari`s weightlifting bronze in 2000 Sydney Olympics.
With the addition of Saina`s bronze, India`s medal collection in the ongoing Olympics has gone upto three with pistol shooter Vijay Kumar (silver) and seasoned marksman Gagan Narang (bronze) being the other medal winners.
The packed Wembly arena, which had a seizable chunk of vociferous Indian supporters cheering for Saina, were taken by surprise when the script suddenly changed with Wang getting injured towards the very end of the first game.
"I still can`t believe that I have won a medal. In badminton, I never believed that India could win a medal because the competition is so tough. It is a dream come true for me," Saina said after the match.
"I had trained hard and there was a lot of expectation. I initially thought that she was just taking rest as she was tiring, but then I realised she was injured. It`s sad that she got injured, but I was confident of beating her as I was coming into rhythm," she said.
Saina said her defeat against top ranked player Yihan Wang of China yesterday was still rankling her as she had adopted a wrong strategy against her.
"Today`s match was crucial. But I was still thinking about what happened on friday. But as the game went, I began to play better. I felt that she was tiring and I had my chance," the ace shuttler said.

London Olympics 2012 badminton: Saina Nehwal loses; still in hunt for bronze

LONDON, July 12, 2012: World number one Wang Yihan of China outplayed India's Saina Nehwal to beat 21-13, 21-13 in the semifinals of women's badminton singles match at the London Olympics 2012 on Friday. Three unforced errors from Saina in a row. Wang beat Saina 21-13, 21-13 in the semifinals. However, Saina will have another shot for a bronze medal in the play-offs.

About Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal (born March 17, 1990) is an Indian Khel Ratna badminton player currently ranked 5 in the world by Badminton World Federation. She was born in a Jat family in Dhindar, Hisar district, Haryana, India. Saina is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. Saina is the first Indian to reach the Semi-finals of a Badminton tournament in Olympics. She achieved it at the London Olympics 2012. She is the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships. Saina Nehwal made history on June 21, 2009, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament, by clinching the Indonesia Open with a victory over higher-ranked Chinese Wang Lin in Jakarta. Women's singles Highest Ranking 2 (December 2, 2010) Current Ranking 5 (15 March 2012) Title(s) 2009 Indonesia Super Series, 2010 Singapore Super Series, 2010 Indonesia Super Series, 2010 Hong Kong Super Series, Chinese Taipei Open, 2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold, Swiss Open 2011, Swiss Open 2012, 2012 Indonesia Super Series Premier   Medal record Women's Badminton  world Championships Gold 2008 India Girl's singles   Commonwealth games Gold 2010 India Women's Singles Asian Championships Bronze 2010 New Delhi Women's Singles