New Delhi: Saina Nehwal has capped an incredible season by reaching the top 10 ranking in women's badminton singles.
The good news came on Friday morning and Saina woke up to find herself in an elite domain and world No. 10 is the highest ranking ever achieved by an Indian woman in world badminton.
For someone who targetted a top 25 finish at the beginning of the year, this is an achievement to cherish.
"I can see the happiness in my parent’s eyes and also Gopi Sir is very happy. I think the hard work and my focus and the way I played really helped me reach this level," an ecstatic Saina says.
The year 2008 has been a dream come true for the 18-year-old. It all turned around during Beijing Olympics where she stormed into the quarter-final of the women's singles event.
From then on there was no looking back as Saina eclipsed tennis star Sania Mirza.
A win at the Chinese Taipei Open and then back to back titles at the Commonwealth Youth Games and the World Juniors saw her climb the rankings.
"The way I started playing in May in the China Masters Super Series event, the first tournament where I reached the semi-finals, that day I thought you can do it Saina, You can be in top 10, you can beat top 10 players," she says.
But while it is time for her to celebrate, national coach Pullela Gopichand believes the best is yet to come.
"At this point of time I think target would be to get in right into the top 5 and that will happen if she gets in a few semi-final results and probably a couple of tournament victories," says Gopichand, who won the All-England Badminton Championship in 2001.
Breaking into the top 10 is one thing, staying there demands much more. Now there are new targets in sight for 2009 - the world championships in Hyderabad and the holy grail of badminton - the All-England championships.
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