New Delhi: Pioneering Indian sportswoman Saina Nehwal believes she might have excelled more as a sportswoman if she had chosen a tennis racket instead of playing badminton.
Nehwal has an impressive resume as a badminton player. Not only did she become the first Indian sportswoman to be ranked number one in the world, but she was also the first athlete from the country to win an Olympic medal.
"Sometimes I feel that it would have been good if my parents had gotten me into tennis," Saina said during her talk 'Her Story of Her -My Story' at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
"I think there is more money and I had more strength. I could have done better in tennis than in badminton," she added.
While Saina has inspired many to take up badminton, the 34-year-old had no one to look up to when she picked up the racket at the age of 8.
"When I started, I didn't have any role models to look up to. No one to look up to and say 'I want to be world number one or be an Olympic medalist'. I hadn't seen anyone do that in badminton before me," Saina said.
In addition to bronze at the London Olympics, Nehwal also won a bronze and a silver at the World Championships and multiple golds at the Commonwealth Games, including two in women's singles.
She urged the young people present to explore a career in sport.
"I always tell the children to focus on the games. China wins 60 to 70 medals, we only win 3 to 4. There are so many doctors and engineers that their names don't appear in the newspapers," she said.
"I especially want girls to step up and start getting fit and playing sports. We are there for the boys now, there are world number ones, Olympic champions and many medalists to look up to," she added.
Reflecting on her career, she said her hard work made up for her lack of talent.
"I loved hard work, I was not the most talented person, I need to practice a lot. If a talented player does something 100 times, I had to do it 1000 times. But I like hard work. My coaches like that they never give up. attitude up."
Nehwal has an impressive resume as a badminton player. Not only did she become the first Indian sportswoman to be ranked number one in the world, but she was also the first athlete from the country to win an Olympic medal.
"Sometimes I feel that it would have been good if my parents had gotten me into tennis," Saina said during her talk 'Her Story of Her -My Story' at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
"I think there is more money and I had more strength. I could have done better in tennis than in badminton," she added.
While Saina has inspired many to take up badminton, the 34-year-old had no one to look up to when she picked up the racket at the age of 8.
"When I started, I didn't have any role models to look up to. No one to look up to and say 'I want to be world number one or be an Olympic medalist'. I hadn't seen anyone do that in badminton before me," Saina said.
In addition to bronze at the London Olympics, Nehwal also won a bronze and a silver at the World Championships and multiple golds at the Commonwealth Games, including two in women's singles.
She urged the young people present to explore a career in sport.
"I always tell the children to focus on the games. China wins 60 to 70 medals, we only win 3 to 4. There are so many doctors and engineers that their names don't appear in the newspapers," she said.
"I especially want girls to step up and start getting fit and playing sports. We are there for the boys now, there are world number ones, Olympic champions and many medalists to look up to," she added.
Reflecting on her career, she said her hard work made up for her lack of talent.
"I loved hard work, I was not the most talented person, I need to practice a lot. If a talented player does something 100 times, I had to do it 1000 times. But I like hard work. My coaches like that they never give up. attitude up."
