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Now its d turn of srikanth to aim at the apex n hope he does it this year
Wud b tuf to pull down Chen long from d top spot but the consistency he has shown in his game urges me that he would b at the top by the end of this year

I stopped following the third set at 10-12 and Srikanth wins all points after that point. Looks like I got the SSP touch. So 2/2 it is. Congratulations to Saina and Srikanth.

hahahaha. I checked Saina's score, but didn't get a chance to follow Srikanth's match. Not following a match is always good for the final result.

Following the wins of Saina and Srikanth, ToI talks to Gopichand. Lots of interesting points being made (other players, doubles, etc.)

Gopichand's take on Indian badminton today.

Yes, interesting point about doubles especially. Badminton doubles really appears to be a distinct event from singles as opposed to tennis. He says that we need kids to be developed in doubles.

In tennis, I have never seen any kids who start thinking of being a doubles specialist while growing up. Most of the doubles players are those who really turn to doubles when they have tried their hand in singles but have realized that that cannot too much progress in that.

In badminton, there do not appear to be too many players who have turned to doubles after they have finished their singles career. Most of the doubles players are only playing that and not even trying singles.

It is puzzling why this distinction between 2 racket sports ? Any thoughts ?

I saw Saina and Sindhu try doubles. It needs too much of co ordination. It needs practice and awesome chemistry. Can't be started just like that

But that can be developed after some time. For instance, say after 5 years, if Saina and Sindhu are not good enough singles player but still fit enought o play doubles, can they become successful doubles team after playing few tournaments together ? The answer seems to be no from what Gopichand seems to be saying from that article where he says that those skills needs to be developed in kids.

While in tennis I have not seen or heard any coaches teaching doubles skills to the kids.

I remember a specific interview in which Gopichand discussed at length about this issue with doubles. Showing the ratio of singles vs doubles players and the tremendous improvements that the former group made under his tutelege, the journalist asked Gopi if we need a specialist doubles coach to produce world class doubles pairs to complement our singles' achievements. Gopi said the problem is not with coaching, but with players not commiting to doubles at an early age. However, he opines that players are not the ones to be blamed. Most of the time it is the parents that are not willing to make that commitment and listen to coach's advice. Additionally, almost all of these talented kids are employed by several organizations (Railways, PSCB, Banks etc.,) while they are still in teens. These employers pressurize them to play singles and won't let them play doubles exclusively. Gopi thinks these two are the major factors that is detrimental in India not making any progress in doubles. As Sameer mentioned, you won't see any top singles player playing doubles at a higher level, and vice-versa.

- Varma

Omkara wrote:I saw Saina and Sindhu try doubles. It needs too much of co ordination. It needs practice and awesome chemistry. Can't be started just like that

I saw that game as well; they were pretty decent and to me looked good enough to be world-class if they had a couple of years of playing together.

I think we need a lot more coaches and yes, a few of them doubles specialists. It can't be that all our top players come from one stable (Gopi's). Saina's split from Gopi is going to be a good one for Indian badminton as it will attract younger players to Vimal Kumar.

Sin Hombre wrote:

Omkara wrote:I saw Saina and Sindhu try doubles. It needs too much of co ordination. It needs practice and awesome chemistry. Can't be started just like that

I saw that game as well; they were pretty decent and to me looked good enough to be world-class if they had a couple of years of playing together.

exactly the point "if they had couple of years of playing together" not like Sania-Hingis... Hit from day 1

This is another interesting article about how the split between Saina and Gopi is actually helping our badminton in whole -

Exciting times ahead for Indian badminton

However, the cold war between Gopi and Saina took an unpleasant turn on Saturday when she chose to snub her former coach by not acknowledging his contribution on reaching the world No. 1 spot.

Saina’s ‘conduct’ didn’t go unnoticed. Mohammad Arif, 71, former coach of Gopi and Saina, said, “Saina should have been more magnanimous. You don’t become small when you acknowledge a person’s contribution in your career or life.”

Obviously, Saina does not care anymore, though her father remembered the role played by Arif and Gopi in Saina’s career.

For those keeping track of even the off-court happenings of the India Open, it was not hard to miss how desperate Gopi was to see Srikanth win especially after Saina’s successful campaign.

It would have been classy of Saina to acknowledge the roles of Gopi/Arif on her road to No. 1. It will eventually come but (may be) right now she has blinders on and is focused on staying at the top. If so, the Chinese better be ready for her. Vimal is tall (I think 6'2") and sparring with him will let her learn to counter taller players.

Omkara wrote:

Sin Hombre wrote:

Omkara wrote:I saw Saina and Sindhu try doubles. It needs too much of co ordination. It needs practice and awesome chemistry. Can't be started just like that

I saw that game as well; they were pretty decent and to me looked good enough to be world-class if they had a couple of years of playing together.

exactly the point "if they had couple of years of playing together" not like Sania-Hingis... Hit from day 1

Hingis is one of the greatest doubles (and singles) players of all time; Sania is a full time doubles player as well. The two of them combining well is not a surprise; we see the same in badminton with the Chinese doubles players when they change partners.

Congratulations to the new world #1 Saina Nehwal!! And wonderful to see Srikanth winning the men's title in style to give us both men's and women's singles titles in a significant tournament for the first time in a very long time.

First time in 4 months, PKB. Srikanth and Saina did similar double in China open super series in November which I think was a even bigger achievement than this as it was achieved in China right under their nose.