Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Winner Saina Nehwal On A High

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GUANGZHOU, CHINA (GaeaTimes.com)- For Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal, this week has surely been a hectic one. Just days after being announced as the winner of the much-coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the star shuttler is now gearing up for the Asian Games 2010 which kicked off with a grand opening ceremony on Friday with China assuming the duty of the host nation this time around. The high-profile event which would continue till November 27, is all set to be one of the most spectacular sporting extravaganza which would witness the participation of thousands of athletes from 45 countries across Asia vying to win the much-coveted gold medal.

Expectations are indeed running high from Saina Nehwal as her ardent fans are confident that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winner would be able to bring an end to the nation’s 48-year-old jinx at the Asian Games owing to which no Indian shuttler has been able to bag a gold medal in the tournament since 1962. Given her spectacular performance at the recently held Commonwealth Games 2010 where she was able to register a gold medal, the 20-year-old badminton star indeed holds a lot of hope that she would be able to finish at the top of the tournament.

In the meanwhile, the Indian badminton star was honored with the much-coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award earlier this week in a special ceremony by Sports Minister M.S. Gill. The award is known to be the highest sporting recognition of the nation and it carries a cash prize of 7.5 lakh as well as a citation and a medal.