The return of the queen

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She is the queen of Indian badminton. The first Indian ever to win a badminton medal at the Olympic Games. And she is home.

Saina Nehwal, the winner of the bronze medal at the ongoing London Games, returned to a rousing reception in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
From being mobbed at the airport to being escorted on an open-top bus, and later, on a horse-drawn carriage, Saina was treated like royalty. And why not? She did, after all, make the whole nation proud with her achievement on Saturday.
“I first dreamt of winning an Olympic medal when I was nine,” said an emotional Saina. “And now, it has yet to sink in that I actually have won it! It has been fantastic, right from the beginning of the tournament to the moment when I won it.”
There has been an outpouring of joy from the entire country after her feat, most of all from her coach, Pullela Gopichand, who, according to Saina, was “running around — here, there, everywhere! I have pictures of him doing things you can never have imagined him doing! (laughs).”
Now that she is an Olympic medallist, Saina says she is ready to get down to business. “This Olympic medal is just the beginning. I will win many more medals for my country,” she promised.
“I never imagined I would one day stand on the podium at the Olympics,” Saina said.
“And when I was there, all I could think of were the past few years and the amount of hard work I put in. I couldn’t hold back my tears,” Saina recollected, a little catch in her voice.
“I have Gopi sir to thank, for he made me what I am today. I also want to thank my father, without whom I would be nothing,” she said.
Gopi had only praise for his prodigious charge. “At 22, Saina has already achieved more than what I, or the players before me, had. I keep telling her that her playing target is 2020, which means another eight years — eight All Englands, at least six World Championships, two Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games.
“So the potential for even greater achievements is huge. I think she’s the greatest badminton player India has ever produced.”