Saina’s polished game, with her power-weapon weaved in, is credited to the fashion in which Gopichand has moulded it — three straight shots, one cross-court pattern. “Just the confidence he gives her is huge. Plus, she looks a player who follows tough regimens, and listens to her coach to the last consonant,” England coach Andrew says.

But this world title does not stop Indonesian Athik Jauhari, who has been working with the juniors at Hyderabad, from pointing out some areas of concern. “Her movement’s fine, it can get better. She’s not bad at the net too, but sometimes her smashes need to be harder. Also, she struggles to pick deep drop shots and smashes coming to her left or right,” he says, hinting at a stricter training regimen.