India’s 2012 Olympics bronze medallist in badminton, Saina Nehwal, turned to politics in the twilight of her career and now doubles up as a budding politician and a sporting icon looking to give it back to the sport that made her a super star.
Appearing recently on a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, Saina lamented the fact that other sports in India are not able to match the kind of facilities and support cricket gets, and there is no reason to doubt that the country will get many more Olympic medallists if the facilities in every sport are brought at par with cricket.
“How many badminton academies do we have? (And then) think about how many in cricket…If that many academies are there (for badminton), best facilities, why won’t we get quality players,” she said in the teaser of the podcast that will be released soon..
Talking about the renumeration, and probably hinting towards the annual contracts worth crores offered to Indian cricketers by the BCCI, Saina said: “Humein koi salary nahi milti khelne ke liye, kuchh bhi nahi milta…Hum khud hi haath pairr maarke iss level tak pahunche hain (we don’t get any salary for playing, we get nothing; what we are today is all because of our own efforts).
“Cricket’s situation is such that the players are well taken care of. Best doctors, best physios, best trainers”
She cited the example of fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who is currently in rehabilitation after a recent surgery for his Achilles tendon injury.
“Shami recently got injured, everything (related to his recovery) is being looked after. Soon he will be back in the team,” said Saina.
On a lighter note, Mishra told Saina that cricket is a dangerous sport; and the badminton great shot back in an equally cheeky manner.
“Why do I have to play cricket with Jasprit Bumrah! If he plays badminton with me, he won’t be able to take my 300kmph smash,” she said with a smile.
Appearing recently on a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, Saina lamented the fact that other sports in India are not able to match the kind of facilities and support cricket gets, and there is no reason to doubt that the country will get many more Olympic medallists if the facilities in every sport are brought at par with cricket.
“How many badminton academies do we have? (And then) think about how many in cricket…If that many academies are there (for badminton), best facilities, why won’t we get quality players,” she said in the teaser of the podcast that will be released soon..
Talking about the renumeration, and probably hinting towards the annual contracts worth crores offered to Indian cricketers by the BCCI, Saina said: “Humein koi salary nahi milti khelne ke liye, kuchh bhi nahi milta…Hum khud hi haath pairr maarke iss level tak pahunche hain (we don’t get any salary for playing, we get nothing; what we are today is all because of our own efforts).
“Cricket’s situation is such that the players are well taken care of. Best doctors, best physios, best trainers”
She cited the example of fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who is currently in rehabilitation after a recent surgery for his Achilles tendon injury.
“Shami recently got injured, everything (related to his recovery) is being looked after. Soon he will be back in the team,” said Saina.
On a lighter note, Mishra told Saina that cricket is a dangerous sport; and the badminton great shot back in an equally cheeky manner.
“Why do I have to play cricket with Jasprit Bumrah! If he plays badminton with me, he won’t be able to take my 300kmph smash,” she said with a smile.
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