London: Saina Nehwal created history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic Games bronze medal in badminton when her world number two Chinese opponent retired from the play-off because of a knee injury.
The 22-year-old Saina was trailing 18-21, 0-1 in the high-voltage bronze medal play-off match when her second seeded opponent Xin Wang retired hurt, giving India an unexpected medal.
Saina also became the second Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, after Karnam Malleswari’s weightlifting bronze in 2000 Sydney Olympics.
With the addition of Saina’s bronze, India’s medal collection in the ongoing Olympics has gone upto three with pistol shooter Vijay Kumar (silver) and seasoned marksman Gagan Narang (bronze) being the other medal winners.
The packed Wembly arena, which had a seizable chunk of vociferous Indian supporters cheering for Saina, were taken by surprise when the script suddenly changed with Wang getting injured towards the very end of the first game.
Wang got herself medical attention and even went in for the second game but conceded the match after just one point. A thunderous roar greeted Saina when it was announced that she had won the bronze medal and Wang had retired.
“I still can’t believe that I have won a medal. In badminton, I never believed that India could win a medal because the competition is so tough. It is a dream come true for me,” Saina said after the match.
“I had trained hard and there was a lot of expectation. I initially thought that she was just taking rest as she was tiring, but then I realised she was injured. It’s sad that she got injured, but I was confident of beating her as I was coming into rhythm,” Saina said.
The moment it was known that she was the bronze medal, Saina first waved at her coach P Gopichand, who was sitting in the coach’s chair, and then acknowledged the cheers from the spectators, most of whom were Indians.
Following this match, the contest for the gold and silver medals was held, and Saina’s conqueror in the semis, Wang Yihan of China, was beaten by her compatriot Li Xuerui in a tense three-game match.
Li took the first game 21-15, but the world number one Wang fought back in the second, taking it 21-23.
Neither player was willing to give in and the two Chinese women fought it out in the decider, with Li winning 21-17. (PTI)