Saina Nehwal Feels This Is A Good Time To Get Married As Both Parupalli Kashyap And She Are Ready
A match made in heaven.
Saina Nehwal kept a secret for 10 years. And now that the news of her marriage with fellow shuttler Parupalli Kashyap is out, she doesn't mind sharing the details herself.
Talking to TOI exclusively, the London Olympics bronze medallist said it is the right time for her to get married. Rather, December 16 is the only day in her busy calendar, when she can tie the knot with Kashyap.
"I will get busy with the Premier Badminton League from December 20 and then qualifiers for the Tokyo Games will begin. So this was the only date that we had to get married," Saina, 28, said in Pune.
Although the announcement of their marriage came only last month, Saina said her relationship with Kashyap goes back to 2007.
"We started travelling for bigger tours from 2007-08 onwards. We played tournaments together, trained together and slowly, started paying more attention to each other's matches.
In the competitive world that we live in, it is difficult to get close to someone. But somehow we both found it very easy to talk to each other, talk about our matches. The feeling gradually grew," the Jakarta Asian Games bronze medallist said.
"But we didn't think about marriage before. The career that we pursue is very demanding. It is very important to win tournaments and we didn't want to shift our focus by getting married earlier. A player needs treatment and attention just like a baby.
At home, I get everything without asking, but this will change once I get married. I will be equally responsible of doing things on my own. I didn't want to rush things before the CWG and Asian Games. But now, we think we are ready for it and can manage things on our own," she added.
Kashyap has been helping Saina with her training. "We keep pushing each other. He is actively playing. But now he is getting into coaching so that he can help me."
Saina said she didn't have to break the news to her parents about Kashyap, as they already knew.
" Bolne ki zaroorat nahi padi (I didn't have to tell them). We used to be together most of the time and my parents also travelled with me, so they understood who I was close to and comfortable with even after my losses," she smiled.
It has been almost over a decade that Saina has been playing in the international circuit. She has won medals at almost all big stages, but even now, she faces criticism after her defeats.
"Even I criticize people. I say that Shah Rukh didn't do well in this movie or Aamir Khan was not up to the mark. Criticism is part of life. I only have my racket to talk for me.
My job is to work hard and win matches. More than people's criticism, it is my own self that doesn't let me sleep after my defeats. It is so difficult to digest defeats," the first Indian women to become world No. 1 admitted.
Saina was all praise for PV Sindhu and said comparisons with her academy-mate only pushes her to work harder.
"We both play at international level and more than each other, we have other challengers to deal with. I am glad that she is playing well, as it pushes me too win more. Challenges and rivalry grow when two people are playing well equally in one sport.
So I don't get bothered by the comparisons," Saina said. "I also don't keep a track of others' matches, as I have time only to look after my own preparation. She has been managing her opponents well; I am also trying to find ways to tackle my opponents."
When asked who does she find difficult to handle, she said, "Tai (Tzu Ying), Carolina (Marin) and Akane (Yamaguchi) are a little tough for me at the moment. I want to work more to improve myself in handling them."
Out of the three, Tai has bothered both Saina and Sindhu the most. "It is very difficult to decode Tai. She has so many variations. She has a shot for every situation and you have to be really fit to have answers for those shots.
She has shots even when she is in trouble. To beat her, you have to be super fit, like how at the moment Carolina is, retrieving all the shots, catching it really high. You have to really make Tai scare of playing those shots, which is not easy. At her best, she can beat anyone below 10 also. She is a player, who is beyond strategies, I feel," Saina said.
Though she is looking to work her strategies around Tai's game, Saina said it is not easy given the hectic international schedule the players have been following recently.
"Every player has one or two opponents to worry about. If I am troubled by Tai or Carolina, I can beat Ratchanok (Intanon), who is a very good player and can beat Tai. But you don't get time to decode your challenger because of the hectic schedule," she said.
