It was one of the earliest things, P Gopichand remembers his ward Saina Nehwal talking compellingly about — making it to the top 10 of the world. Her power game held promise even in her early teens, but when the youngster spoke of her top 10 aspirations with all the seriousness and conviction of a driven adult, he knew there’d never be a shortfall of effort here.

So, even as Gopi advises his charge to not deem No 10 any differently from a No 11 — it’s only in the mind and how a player takes it, since it’s a host of good performances that lead up to the 10, he states — he acknowledges that Nehwal has managed to enter the ‘elite club’ she always dreamt of.

Gopi will applaud heartily, but as coach, the Hyderabadi preaches caution not just against the nine women currently better than Nehwal, but also those from 11 to 15, whose games can be rated at almost the same level. “Rankings will take care of themselves. She’ll have to set her targets as consistent semi-finals and finals of the biggest tournaments, and it will be very tough, because she has to also withstand pressure from those ranked just under her, even as she pushes up her own gears,” he says.

Still, Gopi believes that while top-ranked Hong Kong’s Mi Zhou, who Saina has lost to three times in a row, appears a rung too high, Nehwal can start at 50-50 odds against at least five of the nine girls ranked above her. That she started the year at No 33, spelt out her top-15 wish mid-2008 and exceeded self-expectations by making it to the top 10, proves her revised target of Top 5 by end-2009 might not be too far-fetched.

... contd.