Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal is on cloud nine! After a tumultuous welcome that the sports star received on reaching India, she is now all excited about meeting her idol Sachin Tendulkar, who will be in Hyderabad soon, to present her the keys of a brand new BMW.
"Yes, Sachin will be presenting the car to me," she smiles. It was a promise well-kept by former sports minister of Hyderabad V Chamundeshwarnath, who along with a few others, is gifting the car to Saina.
"Before Saina headed to London, I had told her 'If you come back with a medal, I will give you the car'. Now that she has a bronze, I am keeping my promise. Saina is a big fan of Sachin (Tendulkar)," says Chamundeshwarnath.
"Whenever we meet or talk, she always asks me about Sachin and keeps telling me how much she likes and admires the cricketer. I thought it best that Sachin present the car to Saina. I knew she will be very happy and she is," says Chamundeshwarnath.
Tirupati after Sachin
Soon after meeting with Sachin, Saina and her dad Dr Harvir Singh are heading to Tirupati as they too have a promise to keep. "Meri beti ko jeeta dijiye" — Dr Harvir Singh had asked Lord Balaji — and now that his prayers have been answered, he will be taking his daughter to Tirupati to thank Him. "We had plans of going to Tirupati immediately, but now that Sachin is coming here, we will go to the temple only after meeting him," says Dr Singh.
She slept for 5 hours!
After getting a royal welcome and then obliging the media with bytes and quotes, Saina finally headed home. "Saina was extremely tired, after a long journey. After the media interaction, she told me, 'Papa, mujhe aaram karna hain'. At home, we had tea together. I also gave her a banana because she looked drained. A little later, Saina and I had a quiet lunch of capsicum pulao. She looked too tired and went straight to bed. Saina slept from 4 pm to 9 pm," informs Dr Harvir Singh.
Saina's sister comes home
While Saina's has been constantly facing the camera, her elder sister Chandranshu has always kept away from it. But this isn't an occasion to be away. To celebrate Saina's success, Chandranshu came home with her four-year-old daughter. "She is seven years older to Saina, and stays in Chandigarh. I am so happy she came home," says Dr Singh.
Training can wait a day!
After gorging heartily on pizzas and pastas (something that she had been banned from eating by coach Pullela Gopichand) in London, right after she was awarded the bronze medal, Saina will have a couple of days to herself to eat and do what she wants to, before she starts training.
© TOI
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