Frowns replaced smiles, but only for a little while. Harvir Singh was disappointed, not dejected. His daughter Saina Nehwal, who sent the nation into raptures with her feats at the London Olympics, may have faltered in the semifinal against a much powerful opponent but for him, she was, is and shall be the World No 1.
Watching the match between Saina and World No 1 Yihan Wang in a crowded room at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research (DOR) in Rajendranagar, Harvir found it difficult to conceal his disappointment.
A host of journalists pushed and shoved to get into room no 1 at the Jyothi Hostel of DOR and literally turned it into a studio, hoping to catch the “mood” of Saina’s father.
The expectations were great and all was set for a celebration. Officers of DOR too turned up at the hostel. The first game went in favour of the lanky and vocal Yihan.
“She is world number one. She has the advantage of height,’’ observed Harvir and at the same time sounded confident of a comeback by Saina.
True to his prediction, Saina fought back and edged past Yihan to stand at 12-11 in the second game. Harvir and his colleagues clapped for every point scored by her.
“Superb shot. Hopefully she can pull off a few more points,’’ said an optimistic Harvir. But Yihan raced ahead and Saina could score only a few more points before the Chinese player finished the match.
Nevertheless, Harvir said he did not lose heart. “My daughter played a very good game. She was outplayed by Yihan who was better today. That Saina came this far is a very good achievement. I give full credit to coach Gopichand and the support staff. Even (Parupalli) Kashyap played brilliantly before he lost to world number two (Lee Chong Wei),’’ he said. The fact that all is not lost yet has made the defeat more palatable. Harvir is optimistic that Saina will return with a bronze from London.“She has been playing very well and she trained very hard.
I hope she wins a bronze,’’ he said.
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