The racquet-grip goes a softer shade of baby-pink occasionally these days when Saina Nehwal plays. But the hand that rocks the shuttle is only gaining in power, if not yet in legend. The sheer force with which the Haryanvi hits her strokes — especially the forehand crosscourt smashes — is now the cornerstone of Nehwal’s game.

At the level of the World Juniors, Nehwal’s smash-winners, which usually outnumber her opponents’, have sorted out both: weaker players such as Indonesian quarter-finalist Lindaweni Fanetri, leaving her unable to react as quickly as she’d like, or pugnacious ones like Chinese semi-finalist Shixian Wang by taking control of a rally, and swiftly upping the pace with quick kills.

A slow starter in the first game at most times, Nehwal never looked threatened in Pune since big leads were bridged with the smash, which coach Gopichand calls Saina’s special shot from the back-court. What has evolved over the last two years — it’s still work in progress — is the 18-year-old’s judicious use of her weapon.

There’s the aggression post a smash that alarms rivals and brings points in a clutch. But there’s also the looming half-smash when opponents look vulnerable in the lane. “She has powerful smashes, and then she has the same action for a drop shot — where she checks her wrist at the very last moment. Because of her reputation of being big on power, it catches opponents off-position,” comments Danish coach Jakob Hoei.

When the racquet-hand comes in quick with a steep angle, it opens up a lot of space in the front-court to deceive opponents. It’s not uncommon to find Nehwal trailing until a quick signal from coach Gopichand gets the wrist working.

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