Medal record
Women’s Weightlifting
Competitor for  India
Olympic Games
Bronze	2000 Sydney	– 69 kg
Asian Games
Silver	1998 Bangkok	– 63 kg

Karnam Malleswari (born June 1, 1975, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh) is an Indian Weightlifter. To her first time she participated in the 'National Junior weight lifting championship and stood First. In 1992 she participated in the Asian champion ship which took place in Thailand and stood second and won three silver medals. She also won three Bronze medals in the world championship. She won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney lifting 110 kg in the Snatch and 130 kg in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 240 kg, which made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.^[1] She is a recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour for the year 1995-1996. She is also a recipient of the civilian honour Padma Shri in 1999.Malleswari is awarded the Arjuna Award in 1994, India's highest award in sports.

In 1995, Malleswari won the world weightlifting title in her class (54 kg) with a new record, by lifting 113.0 kg in the clean and jerk. Malleswari, who went on to win the contest's gold medal, beat the previous record of 112.5 kg set by China's Long Yuling in December 1993. She also won the 1995 Asian championship. She broke her own records in the Senior National Weightlifting Championship in 1997, and India's first medal, a weightlifting silver, in the 1998 Asian Games.In

Malleswari was married in 1997 and took a break from competitive weightlifting, to return in 1998 for the Bangkok Asian Games. However, she struggled with her weight thereafter, and was unable to win a medal at the 1999 Athens World Weightlifting championships.

There was contention over the choice of weightlifters for India's Olympic team. With three contestants and two spots, there was criticism when Kunjarani Devi was left out. However, Malleswari's bronze validates her selection.

Meaning of Karnam[link]

Karnam is a Sanskrit word which means fame, dignity and pride

A quote[link]

"People keep asking me why India does not win more medals. It is all easy to talk about this sitting at big desks in air-conditioned rooms. But winning medals is not easy. We go into the field. We get injured. We can't sleep because of the pain. And then ... "

Further reading[link]

India’s 50 Most Illustrious Women (ISBN 81-88086-19-3) by Indra Gupta

References[link]

External links[link]

• Karnam Greens a Residential apartment by Sikka Group in her name
• Bio at the Athens2004 website

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M C Mary Kom

Personal information
Nationality	India
Born	(1983-03-01) 1 March 1983 (age 29) Kangathei, CCpur Subdiv, Manipur, India
Height	158.49 cm (5 ft 2.40 in)
Weight	54 kilograms (120 lb)
Sport
Sport	Boxing
Rated at	Flyweight
Medal record Competitor for  India Women's boxing Asian Games Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Flyweight Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships Silver 2001 Scranton 45 kg Gold 2002 Antalya 45 kg Gold 2005 Podolsk 46 kg Gold 2006 New Delhi 46 kg Gold 2008 Ningbo City 46 kg Gold 2010 Bridgetown 48 kg

Mangte Chungneijang Merykom, also known as MC Mary Kom or Mary Kom, (born 1 March 1983) is a boxer from Manipur, India. Mary Kom, a mother of two, is a five time successive World Boxing champion, a biennial amateur boxing competition organised by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). She is the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six World Championships. She came back from a two-year sabbatical to clinch her fourth successive World Amateur boxing gold in 2008, a feat that prompted the AIBA to describe her as 'Magnificent Mary'.^[1] She was earlier an athlete and switched to boxing after the success of fellow Manipur boxer Dingko Singh.^[2][3]

On Sep 18 2010, Mary Kom won the World Boxing Championship title in Bridgetown, Barbados for the fifth consecutive time. She defeated Romanian opponent Steluta Duta by a points difference of 16 to 6.^[4] In its successful mission to make women's boxing an Olympics programme, AIBA selected Mary as one of its three brand ambassadors in 2009.^[5] Mary, who always participated in light flyweight category, had to switch over flyweight as her usual weight category was not included in the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[6] She is the only Indian woman boxer who has qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the quota she achieved in the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships after reaching to the quarter-final, where she lost to world number two Nicola Adams of England.^[7]

On 3 October 2010, she, along with Vijender Singh, had the honour of bearing the Queen's Baton in its opening ceremony run in the stadium for the 2010 Commonwealth Games of Delhi.^[8]

Biography[link]

Education[link]

• Cl. I-IV - Christian Model High School, Loktak, Manipur
• V-IX - St. Xavier’s School, Moirang
• X - Adimjati High School, Imphal
• PUC (Arts)
• BA student

1985–2003: Early life and foray into boxing[link]

Mary Kom took to sports in an effort to provide some financial support to her family. "I was initially an all-round athlete, and 400-m and javelin were my pet events. When Dingko Singh returned from Bangkok (Asian Games) with a gold, I thought I should give it a try. Dingko's success triggered a revolution of sort in Manipur and surprisingly I found that I was not the only girl who was drawn into boxing," she said.

She began boxing in 2000 and was a quick learner who preferred to be put through the same paces as the boys around her. She initially tried to keep her interest from her father, M. Tonpu Kom, and mother Saneikham Kom, but winning a 2000 state championship got her photograph in the newspaper.

After winning her first title and Best Boxer at the First State Level Invitation women's boxing championship in Manipur in 2000, Mary Kom went on to win the gold in the Seventh East India Women’s Boxing Championship held in West Bengal and five subsequent Indian National Championships from 2000 to 2005.

She also embarked on an international campaign that has brought her a series of gold medals and honors.

On her way by train to the selection camp for her first Asian Women’s Boxing Championships in Bangkok, she had all her luggage and her passport stolen. Her parents asked her to come home but she carried on her course.

On November 22, 2003 in the 46-kg finals of the Asian Women's Championships at Mahabir Stadium in Hisar, India, she defeated Chou Szu Yin of Chinese Taipei by RSCO-2. She had previously defeated L. G. Chandrika of Sri Lanka also by RSCO-2.

2003- present awards and success[link]

Mary Kom's "international gold rush" finally began with the Second Asian Women's Championship in Hissar and continued with a win in the Third Asian Women's Championship, held in Taiwan.

In her first AIBA World Women's Boxing Championship in Scranton, USA in 2001, the 18-year-old Mary Kom had to settle for silver, losing to Hulya Sahin of Turkey by 13-5 in the 48-kg final after defeating Jamie Behl of Canada by 21-9 in the semi-final and Nadia Hockmi of Poland by RSCO-3 in the quarter-final. "She was leading in the first round but her opponent managed to score points in the final round," coach Anoop Kumar said of Mary Kom's performance in the final.

The next year, she struck gold at the Second AIBA World Women’s Senior Boxing Championship held from October 21–27, 2002 in Antalya, Turkey, winning the 45-kg division by defeating Svetlana Miroshnichenko of the Ukraine in her semi-final and Jang Song-Ae of North Korea in the final

Her once-skeptical father accompanied his trail-blazing daughter to the ceremony in 2003 at which she was the first woman ever to receive India's prestigious Arjuna award for her achievement in boxing.

She also took gold in the 46-kg division of the Women's World Boxing Tournament in Tønsberg, Norway from 27 April to 2 May 2004, defeating Derya Aktop of Turkey by RSCO-2 in the semi-final and Xia Li of China by RSCO-2 in the final.

She was also the Witch Cup Tournament champion in Hungary in 2004.

At the August 2004 Asian Women's Boxing Championships in Taiwan she defeated Gretchen Abaniel of the Philippines 35-11 in the 46-kg final.

She successfully defended her 46-kg world title at the Third AIBA Women's World Championships held from 25 September to 2 October 2005 in Podolsk, Russia. She won the final by a 28-13 score over Jong Ok of North Korea, who had reached the finals with a 22-20 decision over Gretchen Abaniel of the Philippines. Kom had defeated Elena Sabitova of Russia 31-16 in her semi-final and Nancy Fortin of Canada 30-13 in her preliminary. While she saw her repeat win as great progress, she expressed admiration for the Russians, who won the team event.

On 19–22 October 2006 at the Venus Box Cup in Vejle, Denmark, Mary Kom won by RSCO-2 over Sofie Mølholt of Denmark in the 46-kg semi-final and defeated Steluta Duta of Romania by retirement in the third round. Duta had defeated Valeria Calabrese of Italy RSCI-2 to reach the final and had also won the 46-kg division of the Ahmet Comert Tournament in 2006 with a RSCO-2 over Derya Aktop of Turkey (Merykom did not compete in that tournament.)

On 23 November 2006 at the AIBA World Championships at Talkatora Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India Mary Kom again won the 46-kg division - this time with a 22-7 decision over her Venus Box Cup final opponent Steluta Duta of Romania. Mary Kom kept the Romanian on the defensive for most of the bout, then celebrated her win with a demonstration of Manipuri folk dance in the ring. Duta reached the final with a RSCO-2 win over Boranbayeva Zalgul of Kazakhstan in the semi.

In New Delhi, Mary Kom had previously defeated Jong Ok of North Korea 20-8 in the semi-final, and Chandrike Geruga of Sri Lanka by RSCO-2 in the quarter-final after a bye in the preliminary round. She began the tournament with a cough and fever (and was unable to take any medication because of the doping test) but she still performed well enough to lead Chandrike Geruga 13-3 after one round, and the bout was stopped in the second with Mary Kom ahead 19-4.

Achievements[link]

• Boxing Champion (Women PIN Weight 46 kg Category)
• Founder, MC Mary Kom Boxing Academy (Girls), A/112, Games Village, Imphal 2006

National

• Gold - 1st Women Nat. Boxing Championship, Chennai 6-12.2.2001
• The East Open Boxing Champ, Bengal 11-14.12.2001
• 2nd Sr World Women Boxing Championship, New Delhi 26-30.12.2001
• National Women Sort Meet, N. Delhi 26-30.12.2001
• 32nd National Games, Hyderabad 2002
• 3rd Sr World Women Boxing Champ, Aizawl 4-8.3.2003
• 4th Sr WWBC, Kokrajar, Assam 24-28.2.2004
• 5th Sr WWBC, Kerala 26-30.12.2004
• 6th Sr WWBC, Jamshedpur 29 Nov-3.12.2005
• 10th WNBC, Jamshedpur lost QF by 1-4 on 5.10.2009

International

• 1st Asian Women Boxing Championship (AWBC), Bangkok 2001
• 2nd AWBC, Hissar, Haryana 19-22.11.2003
• 3rd AWBC, Kaohsing City, Taiwan 5-12.8.2005
• Silver medal - 2001 Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships, Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA.
• Gold medal - 2002 Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships, Antalya, Turkey.
• Gold medal - 2005 Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships, Podolsk, Russia.
• Gold medal - 2006 World Women's Boxing Championship, New Delhi, India.
• Ist WWB Tournament, Norway 2004
• Venus Cup International Women Box Tourn, Vejla (Denmark ) 8-23.10.2006
• Gold medal - 2008 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, Ningbo, China.
• Gold medal - Asian Women's Boxing Championship, Astana, Kazakhstan.^[9]
• Bronze medal - 2010 Asian Games, Guangzhou, China^[10]
• Gold medal - 2010 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, Barbados.

Awards[link]

• Arjuna Award (Boxing) 2004
• Padma Shree (Sports) 2006
• Contender for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2007
• People of the Year- Limca Book of Records 2007
• CNN-IBN & Reliance Industries' Real Heroes Award 14.4. 2008 Mon
• Pepsi MTV Youth Icon 2008 23.12.2008 Tue
• ‘Magnificent Mary’, AIBA 2008
• Felicitation by Zomi Students’ Federation (ZSF) at New Lamka YPA Hall 17.12.2008 Wed
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 29.8.2009 Sat, New Delhi (27.7.2009 Wed)
• Int’l Boxing Association’s Ambassador for Women’s Boxing 2009 (TSE 30.7.2009 Thur)^[11][12]
• Sportswoman of the year 2010, Sahara Sports Award 2010^[13]

On August 29, 2009 she was selected for the India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award alongside boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar.^[14]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mary Kom - Official Website
• Mary Kom - Biography
• MC Marykom, MTV Youth Icon

Saina Nehwal
Personal information
Born	(1990-03-17) March 17, 1990 (age 22)[1] Dhindar,[2] Hisar district, Haryana, India
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb)
Country	India
Handedness	Right
Coach	Pullela Gopichand Atik Jauhari
Women's singles
Highest Ranking	2[3] (December 2, 2010)
Current Ranking	5[4] (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
Medal record Competitor for  India 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
BWF Profile

Saina Nehwal (Hindi: साइना नेहवाल ; Telugu : సైనా నెహ్వాల్) (born March 17, 1990) is an Indian Khel Ratna badminton player currently ranked 5 in the world by Badminton World Federation.^[4] Saina is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics and 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.

Saina won her second career Super Series title by winning the Singapore Open title on June 20, 2010. She completed a hat-trick in the same year by winning the Indonesian Open on June 27, 2010. This win resulted in her rise to 3rd ranking and subsequently to No. 2. Later in the same year she also won Hong Kong Super Series on December 12, 2010. After experiencing a poor 2011 season, Saina become the first Indian singles player to reach the summit stage of year-ending Super Series Finals defeating two-time All England champion and World No. 5 Tine Baun in the semi-finals.

Previously coached by S. M. Arif, a Dronacharya Award winner, Saina is the reigning Indian national junior champion and is currently coached by Indonesian badminton legend Atik Jauhari since August 2008,^[5] with the former All England champion and national coach Pullela Gopichand being her mentor.

Saina was born in Dhindar, Hisar district, Haryana and completed first few years of her schooling from Campus School. Her Father initially worked in CCS HAU and they then had their residence in the University Campus.^[6] He later shifted to Hyderabad & so Saina spent her growing years in Hyderabad, India. Her foray into the world of badminton was influenced by her father Dr. Harvir Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad and her mother Usha Nehwal,^[1] both of whom were former badminton champions in Haryana. She is the top ranked player (women) in Indian Badminton history.^[7]

Childhood and early training[link]

She has got brown belt in Karate. She quit Karate at age of 8, when she was asked to have a motorcycle run over her stomach. She practised Badminton in Badminton Court of Faculty Club of CCS HAU located in the University itself.^[8]

Sponsorship[link]

In 2002, when sports brand Yonex offered to sponsor Saina’s kit. As her status and rankings improved, the sponsorships increased. In 2004, BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited)^[9] signed the rising star onto their payroll, and she is also supported by Olympic Gold Quest.^[10]

Career summary[link]

Saina was the under-19 national champion. Saina created history by the winning the prestigious Asian Satellite Badminton tournament (India Chapter) twice, becoming the first player to do so.

In 2006, Saina appeared on the global scene when she became the first Indian woman to win a 4-star tournament, the Philippines Open.^[11] Entering the tournament as the 86th seed, Saina went on to stun several top seeded players including number seed Xu Huaiwen before defeating Julia Wong Pei Xian of Malaysia for the title. The same year also saw Saina as runner up at the 2006 BWF World Junior Championships, where she lost a hard fought match against top seed Chinese Wang Yihan. She did one better in the 2008 by becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships by defeating ninth seeded Japanese Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18.

She became the first Indian woman to reach the quarter finals at the Olympic Games when she upset world number five and fourth seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in a three-game thriller. In the quarter-finals Saina lost a nail biting 3-gamer to world number 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti. In September 2008, she won the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2008 beating Lydia Cheah Li Ya of Malaysia 21–8 21–19.^[12] Maria Yulianti had earlier lost her quarter-final match to Pia Bernadet, Saina's semi-final opponent, thus denying Saina a rematch.

Saina has been named The Most Promising Player in 2008.^[13] She reached the world super series semifinals in the month of December 2008.^[14]

On 21 June 2009, she became the first Indian^[15] to win a BWF Super Series title, the most prominent badminton series of the world by winning the Indonesia Open. She beat Chinese Wang Lin in the final 12–21, 21–18, 21–9. Saina on winning the tournament said "I had been longing to win a super series tournament since my quarter final appearance at the Olympics". Saina is on the par with the likes of Prakash Padukone and her mentor Pullela Gopichand who both won the all England championships which are of similar status to the super series. In August 2009 she reached the quarterfinals of world championship losing to the second seed Lin Wang. Saina Nehwal was rewarded with Arjuna award in August, 2009 and her coach Gopichand was also rewarded with Dronacharya award at the same time.

Saina has been signed up by Olympic Gold Quest to support her in fulfilling her dream of winning the Olympic gold medal.^[16] Saina has been awarded with Padma Shri award in January 2010. Saina is brand ambassador of Deccan Chargers, an Indian Premier League team owned by Deccan chronicle. She has also became one of the 8 brand ambassadors of 2010 Commonwealth Games held on New Delhi India

Her strategy, at the beginning of 2010, was to ignore ranking points and focus her energies on premier tournaments. That seems to be working as she has won three titles (including two in India), and has reached the semis of two majors. With the World Championships, Commonwealth and Asian Games coming up, her preparation couldn’t have been better. Saina has been awarded with the highest national sporting award given to players, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on 29 August 2010.

On October 14, 2010 won gold medal against Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia 19–21, 23–21, 21–13 in CWG Delhi and made an unforgettable moment in India's badminton history.

On December 12, 2010 she won Hong Kong super series defeating Wang Shixian of China 15–21, 21–16, 21–17. Saina Nehwal won 2010 Commonwealth games gold in the women's singles badminton event held in the Siri Fort Auditorium, Delhi, on 14 October 2010.

Career record[link]

Event	Year	Result
Czechoslovakia Junior Open	2003	1 Gold
2004 Commonwealth Youth Games	2004	2 Silver
Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament	2005	1 Gold
2006 Commonwealth Games	2006	3 Bronze
Philippines Open (badminton)	2006	1 Gold
Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament	2006	1 Gold
Indian National Badminton Championships	2007	1 Gold
National Games of India	2007	1 Gold
2008 Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold	2008	1 Gold
Indian National Badminton Championships	2008	1 Gold
2008 Commonwealth Youth Games	2008	1 Gold
2008 BWF World Junior Championships	2008	1 Gold
2008 BWF Super Series Masters finals	2008	Semifinalist
2009 Indonesia Super Series	2009	1 Gold
2009 BWF World Championships	2009	Quarterfinalist
2009 Indian Open Grand Prix	2009	1 Gold
2010 All England Super Series	2010	Semifinalist
2010 Badminton Asia Championships	2010	3 Bronze
2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold	2010	1 Gold
2010 Singapore Open Super Series	2010	1 Gold
2010 Indonesia Open Super Series	2010	1 Gold
2010 BWF World Championships	2010	Quarter-finalist
2010 Commonwealth Games	2010	1 Gold
2010 Hong Kong Super Series	2010	1 Gold
2011 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold	2011	1 Gold
2011 Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold	2011	2 Silver
2011 Indonesia Open Super Series Premier	2011	2 Silver
2011 BWF World Championships	2011	Quarter-finalist
2011 BWF Super Series Masters Finals	2011	2 Silver
2012 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold	2012	1 Gold

2008[link]

Summer Olympics[link]

2010[link]

• Saina successfully lead the Indian Women Team to the Quarter-finals stage of the 2010 Uber Cup finals.

• Saina became the first Indian Woman to reach the semi finals of 2010 All-England Super Series before losing to eventual champion Tine Rasmussen.

• Top seeded Saina reached the semifinals of Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Championships 2010 losing out to unseeded eventual champion Li Xuerui of China. Saina's Coach Gopichand advised her not exert too much pressure on herself due to the overwhelming home crowd support.

• Saina wins the 2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold, beating Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia in the final and thus justifying her billing as top seed in the tournament. She won a prize money of $8,280 for winning this BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament.

• Saina Nehwal, again seeded no. 1 in the Singapore Open Super Series 2010, entered the finals defeating World champion Lu Lan of China

• Saina won the second Super Series title of her career by beating qualifier Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the final of the Singapore Open 21–18, 21–15. But the fact that she won the tournament in the absence of all the top 5 ranked players (who all happen to be Chinese), takes a little sheen away from her path breaking victory. Saina won a prize money of $15,000 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament.

• Saina has reached a career high of world no. 3 in the women's singles badminton world rankings on 24 June 2010.^[17]

• Saina defended her Indonesia Open super series title in three tough games against Sayaka Sato of Japan, 21–19 / 13–21 / 21–11.This is her third super series title and her third successive title following wins at Indian open, Singapore Super series.^[18] She again won the top prize money of $18,750 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament.

• On 15 July 2010, with 64791.26 points Saina Nehwal reached a career high world ranking of No. 2 only behind Wang Yihan of China.

• 2nd seed Saina, a tournament favourite, crashed out of the 2010 BWF World Championships in Paris after losing to 4th ranked Chinese Wang Shixian in straight sets 8–21, 14–21. She although equalled her tournament best performance, as she was also a losing quarter-finalist in the last edition held in Hyderabad. She subsequently dropped a spot to be No. 3 in the world rankings.

• Top seed Saina, won the gold medal in the Women's Singles badminton event in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi. She beat Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia 19–21 23–21 21–13. After her win Saina said, “when I was a match-point down, it was like a shock. It was a big match and winning it means a lot to me. Even many years from now, those present here will always remember how Saina won the gold. It is a proud feeling.”^[19]

• In the BWF Super Series ranking for the year 2010 (which only considers the performances of players in the elite world super series tournaments), as on 27 September 2010, Saina has dropped to No. 7 from a high of No. 1 after giving a miss to 2010 China Masters Super Series and 2010 Japan Super Series due to her preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.^[20] As on Dec 5 2010, for the first time in the year Saina Nehwal dropped out of the top 10 best performers in the 2010 BWF Super Series rankings.

• Saina Nehwal confirmed her participation for the 2010 Hong Kong Super series to held from 7 Dec to 12 Dec, 2010 and is also the penultimate super series tournament of the year. This would be Saina's first super series tournament after a gap of more than 5 months since her win in the 2010 Indonesia Super Series in June 2010.

• On 12 December 2010, Saina Nehwal defeated Wang Shixian 15–21, 21–16, 21–17 in the final of the 2010 Hong Kong Super Series to win her fourth career Super Series title.

2011[link]

• 4th seed Saina Nehwal crashed out of the 2011 Korea Open Super Series Premier on 27 January 2011 in the 2nd round. She was defeated by the Japanese Sayaka Sato in a tight 3 set match with score 17-21,21-19 and 21-11.
• 5th seed Saina, was disappointed when she was defeated by Eriko Hirose of Japan at 2011 All England Super Series Premier on 11 March 2011. She was defeated in straight sets with a score of 21-11 and 22-20. It was her second early exit of the year after being defeated in Korean Premium Super Series earlier in January.
• One week later, on 17 March 2011, she met Eriko Hirose again (in the second round of the Wilson Badminton Swiss Open), but managed to win this time in three games 21-15, 17-21 and 21-11 - on her birthday.
• 2nd seed Saina Nehwal beat Ji Hyun Sung of South Korea 21-13, 21-14 to win the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton title on 20 March 2011.
• Saina Nehwal posed an early exit from the Indian Open Super Series in Delhi. She disappointed the home crowd being defeated by Ai Goto of Japan in straight games 21-17 and 21-19.
• Saina Nehwal faltered after a good start as she lost to the then world number three Wang Xin of China in the finals to finish runner-up in the 2011 Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold tournament on 8 May 2011.
• Saina Nehwal participated in the 2011 BWF Double Star Sudirman Cup Mixed team event, she won her first match against Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei which was a tough three setter 21-10, 12-21 21-17, but India lost the tie 3-2. She was then shocked in her second match by current Junior World Champion & 16 year old teen sensation Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand losing in straight sets 21-14, 22-20, but India managed to beat Thailand 3-2 in the tie to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the Elite mixed team event for the first time in the history of the tournament. In the quarterfinals against the mighty Chinese, Saina put up her best performance and beat the then World number two Xin Wang in straight sets 21-15, 21-11, but still the Chinese managed to move into the semi finals with a 3-1 win over India.
• Saina lost to Xuerui Li of China in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open GP Gold.
• Defending Champion Saina lost to Cheng Shao-chieh of Chinese Taipei in the second round of Singapore Open Super Series
• Saina, in her attempt to record a third straight win at the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier, reached the finals where she lost to Wang Yihan of China to finish as runner-up, on June 26.
• Saina Nehwal crashed out of World Championship 2011 as she lost 15-21, 10-21 to World Number 3 Wang Xin of China in a lop-sided women's singles match. Saina, who reached the quarterfinals in the last two editions of the event, had to be contend with yet another last-eight finish.
• Saina Nehwal lost in quarter finals of 2011 China Masters Super Series against World No. 1 Wang Yihan of China in straight games 8-21, 12-21.
• Saina Nehwal lost in semi finals of 2011 Japan Super Series against Juliane Schenk of Germany in straight games 19-21, 10-21.
• Saina Nehwal disappointed once in the 2011 Denmark Super Series Premier as she lost to 17 year old teen Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in straight games 19-21, 13-21 in the second round.
• Saina Nehwal repeated her shocking second round exit in the 2011 French Super Series as she lost to World No. 16 Li Xuerui of China in straight games 18-21, 29-30.
• Saina Nehwal lost in semi finals of 2011 Hong Kong Super Series against World No. 7 Tine Baun of Denmark in straight games 16-21, 15-21.
• Saina Nehwal was defeated in the very first round of 2011 China Open Super Series Premier by World No. 8 Bae Youn-joo of South Korea 21-15, 22-24, 15-21.
• During the season ending tournament in December, Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indian singles player to reach the final of BWF Super Series Masters Finals after defeating World No. 5 Tine Baun of Denmark to cruise 21-17, 21-18 in the semifinals of the 2011 BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Liuzhou (China). She went on to lose the final 21-18, 13-21, 13-21 against the World No. 1 Chinese Wang Yihan in a contest lasting over an hour.

2012[link]

• Saina Nehwal successfully defended her Swiss Open Title by defeating World No. 2 Wang Shixian of China 21-19 21-16 on 18th March, 2012, a day after she turned 22 years old.

Record against top ranked players[link]

(as on December 18, 2011)

References[link]

Cited

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saina Nehwal

• Interview with Saina Nehwal – "Your Call with Saina Nehwal" on NDTV http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/your-call/your-call-with-saina-nehwal/136852
• Singh, Amanpreet (2007-01-06). "Saina: The untold story". The Tribune. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070106/spr-trib.htm#2. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
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