2 things- one, those opinions were from before the match. Second, not everyone has given their opinions and people change their minds too. BTW, which country are you from?
Before Saina lost to Wang Yi Han, her movement was the biggest weakness. After she loses to Wang Yi Han, even a newspaper says Saina has a big weakness with her movement. I would say that is pretty consistent convergence of opinion. Since I already commented on this fact around six years ago, it's unlikely she is going to change in a short frame of time.
Well I have felt it myself that her movements are among her biggest weakness. So in a sense I agree with you. I also feel that she often gives up the chase too easily. She should fight like a machine - never giving up the chase. That is to say I feel that there is a psychological weakness in her game as well. Well, apparently she IS working on her movements now under Vimal Kumar. How long do you think it will take to improve her movements? She said something like 4 weeks somewhere. Part of the reason I am optimistic about Saina is because of her performance in the last 5-6 months. She looks like she is steadily improving(fitness wise, game wise) and she isn't losing to the non-chinese players.(Unlike 2013 where she had loads of problems like injuries and overweight). I actually think Saina might have beaten LXR if she was in the draw instead of WYH.
Welcome Airos to this forum. Yes. Indeed.she is trying hard to change her movement. I can see that in her game. With her current movement, She is able to beat anybody in the world except one or two higher ranked players. Higher ranked means, yihan or li. We already saw what happened when she met ratchanok , sung ji hyun, wang shixian, who are all higher ranked players to her etc. So, it's very clear that she is in the right direction. It is easy to achieve something when your fathers, forefathers did that already but it will be very difficult to do that when you are alone . So, dont worry. She will come back. She is a fighter.
It's appalling that she needs to rework on her movement and weight issues barely months after she seemed quite fit and moved well at the Australian SS, especially in the final. Perhaps, she's been lazy or too casual during training after the Australian SS?
I see, and thanks for the welcome. Yes, let's see hoe she does. I am optimistic. If I am not mistaken Denmark Open and the SS Finals are two big ones left in 2014. So, in the best case scenario, she might get a chance to beat her 2 Chinese nemesis(WYH and LXR) this year.
She was definitely fitter during the Australian Open than she was during the World championship. Although she looked like she is getting back to shape in the Asian Games. Maybe she ate too many ice creams to celebrate her Australian Open win. But I think her problems with movements go deeper than her fitness. She needs a fundamentally different training for movements than she has been doing so far. And it seems she is working on that under her new coach.
Absolutely true. If you read more deeply into training routines and how they need to be individualized for each player, the more you read, the more complex it is to change fundamental habits. For her movement, how can she change years and years of conditioning in four weeks? Think of your own self and your habits. Could you do the same in four weeks? I reckon Saina is a lot fitter than people give her credit for. But because her bounce and movement is inefficient, she potentially tires faster in a tough match than other players. So if she isn't feeling 101%, she looks bad. Given her other distracting commercial commitments as an Indian sporting icon, we can see she really has a tough task.
Her decision to continue with U.Vimalkumar is commendable for time being. Gopichand is a wonderful coach no doubt in that. There are some glimses of improvement in her movement. She has to continue with vimalkumar for some more time. Even though she is coached by vimal, when gopi accompanied vimal during saina's matches against sung ji hyun, saina did not even care to look into him even for a second. She should know first that he is one of the best coaches in india whom sacrificed his entire life to bring badminton to a great level in india. unfortunate.
Well, erasing your past habits and starting from scratch may be time consuming, but new movements can be created and learned relatively quickly with exercises if it does not interfere with previous habits. I really don't think Saina needs to do everything fresh from scratch by forgetting what she knows. She needs to add a few new movements and tricks to make relatively quick progress by covering her weaknesses. On top of it she can work hard on her endurance. Perhaps she should take Rudy Hartono's advice and do skipping for 2 hours straight. Skipping continuously for hours is both physically and mentally exhausting and therefore it can improve her endurance. And yes, she has to be careful about avoiding distractions.
I noticed that as well. Probably an indicator that she plans on returning to Gopi's academy at some point and doesn't plan on upsetting him. Yes, for now she should continue with Vimal Kumar. There were definitely signs of improvement in her game in the Asian games. Ideally speaking a student should gain the most by learning from multiple coaches.
Your optimism has to be admired but I do think she has at least 6 years of catching up to do compared to other players. Dont be surprised with a drop in form with an assimilation of a new skill.
I am not pessimistic, just realistic with expectations But you get me wrong. She has habits that are ingrained from at least six years back. I wasn't implying she needs six years more to change. Good luck to her and her coach.
SN is not as hungry as before due to the financial windfall of her sponsorship deals which was a result of her dedication and hardwork previously. Also her style of play demands a lot from her in terms of stamina and gruelling rallies just to secure a point against increasing number of world class young opponents - its too much for her theses days and she will become just an also run in the tournaments that she plays. Its too late for her to change style of play...
Why would she look at him when he doesn't care to utter a word of advice though being the CHIEF NATIONAL COACH? Corrupt man who is clearly helping only the ones enrolled in his private academy. Wonder why they haven't sacked him off yet!
