Do the Chinese shuttlers fear Saina Nehwal? A surprising selection policy by the badminton powerhouse ahead of the London Olympics, one that involved dropping world No.4 Wang Shixian for 21-year-old Li Xuerui, Saina's bugbear, has set tongues wagging to that tune.
The talented Xuerui grabbed her ticket to London along with reigning world champion Wang Yihan and world No. 2 Wang Xin last week. While the top two were picked for their efforts in helping China regain the Uber Cup in May this year, Xuerui's four-event winning streak in the last four months and convincing performances against Saina appear to have prompted the Chinese to choose her over Asian champion Shixian.
While Shixian was on her way to the Games as the world No.3 early in May (when the qualifying period ended), she was displaced by Xuerui towards the end of the month after the former's game fell apart and a few poor results followed. Former National coach U Vimal Kumar, however, feels it is Xuerui's ability to dominate Saina might be the reason behind her getting the nod over the more experienced Shixian.
"I have no doubt that Saina is the chief concern for the Chinese," Vimal told TOI on Monday. "The decision to pick Xuerui shows how much they fear our player. It has nothing to do with playing it safe," he said, explaining Badminton World Federation rules that permitted China to pick the best three if four of their players were at the top of the rankings. Vimal said China would be wary of world No.5 Saina in London as she will be seeded and in line to meet the Chinese in the latter stages of the badminton event, which begins on July 28 at Wimbledon Arena.
"All of the Chinese players will be worried about Saina, but Shixian has looked the most vulnerable against her. She plays a very similar game to Saina's. They both like keeping the shuttle in play in long hard rallies and the reason Saina has done well against her is because of a better net game," he said. The numbers don't lie too, as Saina has emerged victor three out of the four times the duo has met.
Vimal explained that Saina's vulnerability is exposed when players are deceptive. "Although the top-ranked Yihan is one such player, Xuerui's deceptive skills have made her the X-factor," he said of the right-handed player. Saina has won only twice in the six meetings against Xuerui, lending strength to the argument. She has never beaten Yihan in five meetings, while the Indian has a 2-4 win-loss record against Xin.Vimal said Xuerui's strength's was in her deceptive game. "She has a lot of variations from the net and different types of smashes. Her net game is solid and she is always on top of the shuttle. Her ability to wrong-foot players and her consistency is impressive. Based on what I have analyzed, other girls aren't convincing against Saina, but Xuerui's wins have been. She has outclassed her," the former Olympian said.
However, Saina is one of only three players to have beaten Xuerui this year, in the Indonesia Open final in June. "Saina has worked on her mental and physical conditioning and has gone ahead of most of the other Chinese players. She has a 50% chance of winning a medal," Vimal said, explaining that her mental strength was her biggest improvement in the last few years. "She has won a few matches in three games this year and that proves my point about mental toughness. Things will boil down to that one week in London," he said.
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