TheSportsCampus

World rankings and Indian sports persons do not have the greatest of relationships. In a nation starved for heroes in sports other than cricket, a 20-year old badminton sensation has quietly climbed the summit and now lies just one step shy of the world no.1 ranking.

Saina Nehwal, showed immense promise as a youngster, winning the Czechoslovakia Junior Open as a 13-year old. Her breakthrough on the senior circuit came at the 2006 Philippines Open where she became the the first Indian woman to win a four-star badminton event. Victory at the World Youth Badminton Championships in 2008 and a run to the quarter-finals of the Beijing Olympics continued to show her pedigree.

On 21st June 2009 Saina became the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesian Open with a stunning victory over Lin Wang of China in Jakarta. She broke into the top 10 of the Badminton rankings in 2009, and reached a high of 6 before falling back down to 8 at the end of the year.

2010, however, has seen the youngster really come of age. The rankings, which are based on the best 10 performances of a player over a 52 week period, are ofcourse affected by the performance (or non-performance) of other players as well, and Saina broke into the top 5 in March.

Three Super Series titles in consecutive weeks in June saw young Saina jump up to no.3 with a points tally of 64,791.26. The 52-week cycle took the former World no.2 Xin Wang down a notch this week as she slipped to 63,442.4  ranking points, thus elevating Saina to no.2.

The Indian Princess still has a long way to go before dreaming of reaching the summit, with Yihan Wang of China well clear of her at 74,308.9 and perhaps has a more immediate assignment of actually consolidating her place at no.2 at the Badminton World Championships in Paris in August. However, whatever the outcome of her battles with the world's elite next month, this is truly a moment for her to savour.