As Saina comes visiting, Gill asks Gopi who he is

And no one reflected this unfortunate truth more than Sports Minister MS Gill on Tuesday. The minister appeared to have no clue regarding the identity of her coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand, who was accompanying Saina for a visit to the ministry. Profuse praise came Saina’s way, but Gopichand had to answer the question: “Who are you?”

If you thought regret would be a part of the baggage Saina brought back with her from Beijing, a beatific smile greeted the question.

The 18-year-old insisted the painful 11-3 lead in the quarter-final was behind her, and she’d moved on.

“I felt very bad then, I wanted to play the match again, but if I look back, I can be proud of how far I reached. I really wasn’t expecting to reach the last eight. That quarter-final is not going to haunt me, and I know I have to focus on the future. Besides, it isn’t the first time I lost with such a huge lead,” she laughed.

But one small regret lingered. “I couldn’t find Roger Federer,” she said wistfully. “I was staying in the athletes village, and I saw so many stars, but I couldn’t meet him.” But then, a happy memory from sport’s biggest show strikes her, and the smile returns.

“The Bird’s Nest is superb, and everywhere you go you meet such amazing athletes. I was in awe of them, they looked so fit, and you could make out how hard they worked.”

It hasn’t even been two days since she returned, but mention the word ‘break’ and she scoffs. “I will be going to play the Asian circuit in three weeks, and I’m back to my usual training routine. I put in some extra hours yesterday because I knew I had to come to Delhi, to compensate for time lost.” The focus clearly hasn’t wavered, a thought seconded by her coach Gopi.

“People will keep reminding her of how close she was, but she knows what she has to do,” said Gopichand.