Saina Nehwal dedicates Olympic medal to father

Zeenews Sports Bureau

Hyderabad: Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first ever shuttler from India to win an Olympic medal at the 2012 Games. The Olympian returned home on Wednesday to a rousing reception. In an exclusive chat with Zee News at her residence in Hyderabad she dedicated the medal to her father whom she termed as the reason behind her success. “This medal is for my dad. It is because of him that I am at this stage today,” she said. Her semifinal loss to China’s world no 1 Yihan Wang was heartbreaking but nevertheless she returned with a medal. She revealed that the loss came as a disappointment for her and she did not speak to anyone after the match. “I felt bad after losing the semis. I wanted to play in the final. Unfortunately my strategy was wrong for that match.” “I couldn’t believe that I’ve won an Olympic medal. It was only after giving few interviews that the reality dawned on me.” As far as her show in the quadrennial event is concerned, Saina is happy with her performance and says that Olympics is one event where she doesn’t feel any pressure despite the worldwide attention. However, she did concede that going into the event there was an emotional pressure on her. “I am happy with the performance. There was some emotional pressure but Olympics is one competition where I don’t feel any kind of pressure. I love and enjoy playing In Olympics,” she said. As to how she is going to spend her break before she starts training, the Commonwealth gold medalist said she wants to enjoy the time and spend time with the family.