Not due to fighting with Gopi Sir or because of Sindhu, here's why Saina Nehwal shifted from Hyderabad to Bangalore in 2014

Indian Express

19-05-2025

Speculation has always brewed over what led to Saina Nehwal shifting bag and baggage from Hyderabad to Bangalore in 2014, and if she had tiffed with longtime coach Pullela Gopichand. However, in a long interview with The Lallantop, Nehwal said it was nothing quite as dramatic as that. And her reasons had nothing to do with the growing rivalry and attention shifting to PV Sindhu either.
Recalling her thinking at that point, Nehwal told Lallantop that losing the World Championship quarterfinals 8 times and being unable to medal led to Nehwal taking the urgent step of shifting base and trying out new training methods under Vimal Kumar.
'I had lost 8 World Championship quarterfinals. And although I had won many Super Series, an Olympic medal and could beat most top players at other events, I kept wondering why I wasn't winning a World Championship medal. I thought I might not get the answers to why, so I thought, 'Why not change training altogether? Maybe I have the rally game already, but need the speed game…' Nehwal said.
The pathbreaker would finally notch a silver medal at the 2015 edition, before winning her second bronze in 2017. Nehwal dismissed suggestions that she had had a row with Pullela Gopichand, saying, neither she nor he were people who expressed anger or fought bitterly.
But heading into 2015, Saina had sensed a tipping point as far as her goals were concerned. A 9th failure at World's would have broken her, she said. 'If I had lost at my 9th world Championship attempt, mentally I'd have gone down. So I thought I'll just try and see if change helps. It's your career, you have to take the decision. Go out of comfort zone. So I shifted to Bangalore. Left dad behind, and my dog Chopsy for first time. I knew if it didnt work out I'll take responsibility. But in 3-4 months I won India Open again, beating (arch rival) Yihan Wang who I'd lost to many times. I also beat Carolina Marin at Syed Modi, finally got World Championship medal,' she told Lallantop.
Yihan had been a particularly sticky opponent for Nehwal, and beating her unlocked her confidence. 'I can't express the feeling in finally getting the world's medal in the 9th attempt (she lost to Marin in final). I beat Yihan Wang 21-19 in third set, in quarters. She hugged me, and said, finally you got me! Uss time khunnas dete thay Chinese that you Indians don't have medal. Finally even she was happy for me. All England also I played finals that year,' she said about the gutsy decision.
Nehwal also told Lallantop that unlike her fierce on court persona, she didn't feel very confident in fights face to face. 'Face to face I don't fight. Itni himmat nai hai mujhme. I'll just walk away from there silently. I better work hard and come back and win,' she said.
When asked pointedly if she felt Sindhu was receiving more attention from the coach at Hyderabad, Nehwal reiterated that though it may seem like that, reality wasn't so filmy or flimsy in her head. 'Attention argument is OK, if you think that's the reason. But how many times had she beaten me? Just once. When I was coming back from knee injury. First time in 8-9 times. It was never about Sindhu. Would any top player have been OK with returning empty handed from world championship a 9th time?' Nehwal repeated.
Ambitions need tending to and only the player knows the urgency, she said. 'Am I not supposed to try? People will think this (that it was because of Sindhu). If I was an outsider, I would think too. But she had won one world championship medal at Guangzhou,' she said of the coveted medal missing from her cabinet. Her dipping form had been a concern eating away at her.
'People don't talk about how my rank dropped from world No 2 to no 9 in that year (leading to her anxiety). They only speculate on why I left,' she said.
Nehwal said the trend of trying out new coaching methodologies wasn't very radical, just new to India then. 'In Tennis even world No 100s change coaches frequently. Djokovic changes every two years. Does that mean he fought with all coaches? No. It's not how you think.
Today players ask, chali jau kya? I say 'Himmat hai toh jao'. You are the player. Coach will always support you. But if you don't find solutions, how can you just be there and think somehow result will come! Finally the day comes you have to retire and you are left with regrets,' she said.
Nehwal didn't harbour 'What ifs'.
She was however unwilling to pin the blame on Gopichand, with whom tge rapprochment came in 2018. 'Coach is busy with 30-40 players. China has one coach for 3-4 players. And it's happening now. Why are you giving one coach to one player? Thinking then was how can you leave your guru. Ofcourse you can't. But it's your career. You shouldn't have regrets that you didn't try to win. Have sleepless nights rest of your life. But I took the decision, won Super Series, World Championship medal, Asian Games medal. I'm proud I tried,' she said.
Nehwal would also narrate to Lallantop how she returned to Hyderabad. 'Again I went to Gopi sir. Told him I have been away for three years from family. I knew it would be tough (to return). Because he might feel why does she want to come back now. As a player he knew 3 years away from family were tough. But as coach he obviously might have wondered why's she coming back. But I requested him. I'll try my best last 4-5 years,' she recalled.
How did Gopichand react? 'Initially he took 1-2 days to think. But it's not possible he will stay angry with players. He's not that kinda person. He's always been very nice to his players, given them good advice even when angry. He keeps anger within. Do din baad bol diya 'Haan aa ja'. We know each other since 2003. It's not like we would never talk to each other. That only happens in movies.'
While the rift was publicized and became a popcorn munchie for many cynics, Nehwal has no qualms in accepting that Gopichand guided her at the right time. The quarters at 2008 Olympics and bronze at London in 2012 sandwiched another tiny squabble, which Nehwal again maintains was nothing but her coming to grips with the coach having to take care of several players.
But at Beijing, he had lifted her from numbing pain of the loss to Maria Kristin Yulianti in quarters. Nehwal led 11-3 in decider, and remains stunned how she lost from there. 'I lost from 3-11 in third set, maybe I was too young, too close to my dream. But, even today I wonder what happened. I asked her (Yulianti) and she said, 'my coach said, pack your bags, we are going back'. I think she got josh from there and gave her best. The rallies were stunning, I got only 2 points thereafter and lost 13-21… I spoke to Gopi sir, who told me to work hard for next 4 years. I kept thinking my game was good, no injury, I was everywhere, had trained for a 2 good weeks.'
The moments immediately after had non stop Gopi advice, she recalls, as he tried to lift her spirits. 'I blabbered, and he said come back tomorrow at 6 o clock for practice. I told him I'm not training, I want to rest. Its then he asked me, do you want to lose first round or become Super Series champ? Then he just said, theeke don't come for practice. After rona dhona, I told him I'll train at 6 am next day,' she recalled.
2012 posed another challenge, when the opponents walkover gave Nehwal a bronze, India's first which was often undermined without considering how hard she had worked for it.
The cold raging player and coach had briefly stopped training together in 2011.
'Bhaskar Babu sir had started accompanying me to tournaments. There were many other players.. Gopi sir started feeling he has to take care of. .. If performance didn't come, I grew impatient. Parents, coach tell you to have patience. I used to think something was missing after world No 2, I could do more. Last few months, either I couldn't fulfill training rigour or I thought I'll train with Bhaskar babu and results will come. Many people thought zhagdaa ho gayaa, but my improvement wasn't happening,' she said
'I kept losing to same players, so I kept wondering why. I grew impatient, because women's career is till 25-26. It gets difficult. All doubts kept playing in my mind. Gopi sir is not someone who fights with anyone. He said, try kar lo, I'm always with you, for advice. I didn't seek advice. Before Olympics, I thought we should train together again, so I went and spoke to him. Told him I need your help. He was like, OK fine. I'm there for you. He started travelling, we worked well. Won Swiss, Thailand, Indonesia…'
Nehwal would be struck by a viral before Olympics. 'In semis, it was 3 Chinese and me. Gopi sir said don't worry. Just give your best. Medal zaroor aaega. Once you lose semis, it's tough to play for bronze. He said just relax, sleep well. Tension aaega. We have trained well.'
In the bronze playoff against Xin Wang, Nehwal trailed 20-18, when post a toss she hit, Xin sat down. 'It was a normal rally. She started crying. Her game was like mine – Bhaag bhang ke thakaana hai. I lost first game, but she gave up as her knee was hurt. That is not how we wanted match to end. I had won Thailand, Indonesia that year and knew I could fight for medal. Never got a walkover in my career,' she recalled.
Critics can nitpick but Nehwal had done well to put herself in semis and was last woman standing for that bronze. Gopichand would talk her through that moment. 'Whatever happens, medal is yours. Injuries happen. Four years you have killed yourself in training. Are we not supposed to enjoy the medal? It's OK. Next time tera injury ho gaya, uska medal aaega. After 4 years, tou have won, enjoy this time. An Indian winning, you must enjoy the feeling,' she recalled to Lallantop.
Back in 2012, Saina Nehwal was seen as one of only three usurper besides Tine Baun and Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia. It wasn't the most gleeful times to step up that podium though she had deserved every bit of that medal. 'Chinese also were looking at me like, teesri bhi Chinese hoti toh, chalo.. But stadium was full of Indians, Gopi sir was crying that someone Indian won Olympic medal. It's not easy. We had to enjoy the moment. He changed my thinking. Told me you worked hard. You deserve medal.'
Saina vs China
Unlike the last 10 years, 2012 was a Chinese dominance of women's singles badminton, and Saina viewed as an upstart. But she would tell Lallantop how her mother taught her to fear no one and stake claim to her rightful place.
Mother Usha had slapped Nehwal after she lost an u10 event, told her repeatedly she was no less than Chinese, and alongwith Gopichand helped her get over the fear.
When she saw the Koreans and Chinese at her first Uber Cup, she thought they were like machines. Not that their game was mechanical but that their champions were mass produced. 'Like in our cricket – we know how to win, in badminton their coaches are world, Olympics champs, they know how to make champs.'
Twice she had tried training in China. First time, Indians weren't permitted into main centre, next time timing was off – it was Chinese New Year. 'But suddenly Gopi sir, taught us what to do at World level, what to eat and train and he had a good group of 7-8. We used to get scared of China, out of top 10, 8 were Chinese, so you wondered how to beat them. Gopi sir decided forget it, we will train here only, no need to go to China. We will make champions.'
Assembly lines might make them seem like machines, but Nehwal didn't think they were robots. Hence, not unbeatable. 'China hai toh kya, Korea toh kya? That was my mummy's attitude.'
Nehwal had her own stubbornness. 'Hain Chinese woh toh kya karu, main bhi Indian hoo,' she would tell Lallantop. 'I have worked hard. I used to show them on court how hard i worked. My hard work on stamina showed. They used to crack. They are not robots. They also are humans, and get tired. But we have to work harder,' she said.
Whats the way to beat Chinese? 'Do not complain that training is tough, or that this aches, that hurts. You have to push through pain. There is no player in the world who plays without pain. Niggles are always there. Don't go crying to coaches with complaints about pain. Chup chap, train. I will guarantee you if training is 110 pc, results will come.'