Dubai: Saina Nehwal, the world's fifth-ranked badminton player, joined students from BITS Pilani Dubai at the valedictory of the university's seventh annual sports festival last week.
Ranked fifth by the Badminton World Federation, Nehwal displayed her sporting prowess during an exhibition match against students and left no one in doubt who the winner was on court. Justifying her decision to choose her sports career over university, she said she wanted to stay focused on training and improve her game.
"I don't get time to go to university because badminton is my profession now and I'm training very seriously," she said.
Nehwal is the first Indian woman to reach the singles quarter-finals of the Olympic Games and the winner of the Indonesian Open Super Series in 2009. "I just want to focus on the game right now and after I'm done with it I can focus on my education."
Like most young women her age, the 20-year-old trains hard not only to lift her game, but is also conscious about maintaining the right physique. "I don't want to risk taking a few months off before exams and put on weight and come back to the game, things don't happen like that," she said.
Nehwal trains for up to 10 hours a day and has been playing the sport since she was eight years old. Had she not taken to sports, she would have liked to study medicine, said the star who, as things stand, has finished secondary school.
"My father is a scientist and he wanted me to be a doctor," said Nehwal. "I just wanted to do any kind of medicine as it is my first love. After playing so well at such a young age and representing India at the Olympic Games, I want to focus on one thing right now."
Epitomising any job interviewer's dream, when asked where she sees herself in five years, she confidently said: "I see myself as world number one winning all the titles — winning the Olympics and Commonwealth games."
Not lacking in self-confidence, Nehwal believes she has the potential to realise her dreams of victory on the world stage. "I believe I have the potential to do that because the way I'm already playing against the world's top players is amazing. In fact I beat the world No. 10 in the Asian Badminton Championships, which is unbelievable," she said.
"My performances are going well and if I continue to work hard I'm sure I can do well in the future," she added.
