Saina's parents say more laurels to come

Hyderabad, May 28 (UNI) Basking in the glory of their daughter becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to win a major international tournament, Saina Nehwal's parents said she will bring more laurels for the country.

''Our joy knows no bounds. What we did not achieved, our beloved daughter achieved today. We know this is the beginnig and many more laurels will follow,'' Saina's father Harvir Singh, himself a former national level badminton palyer, told UNI here today.

Harvir Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oil Seeds Reasearch here and wife Usha Rani were former Haryana state badminton champions.

Meanwhile, Sina's coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand attributed the Hyderabadi teenager's success to her fitness regime under a trainer.

''She has a great future. Much before this win, we had assessed her potential during last year's Asian Badminton Championship and at couple of other major events. She is very fast and her reach is fine with good shots selection and execution. What she needed was fitness. For that we hired a trainer John Thomas last year. That training is now fetching results,'' Gopichand told UNI here.

Gopichand said his 16-year old ward is a tough nut to crack and as she gains experience she will become mentally stronger and achieve more laurels.

Saina won the junior title in Czech Open three years ago, was a member of Indian team which won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo, Australia in 2004 and then was part of bronze-medal winning Indian team in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March this year where she beat then defending champion Li Li of Singapore in the team event.

Saina will be up against stronger opponents in the six star Indonesian Open which starts from Wednesday. She will also take part in Singapore Open (June 5-11) and Malaysian Open (June 13-18).

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