Badminton
Jonathan Selvaraj in Delhi 6y

No coach, no problem as Beiwen Zhang sends Saina Nehwal packing from India Open

Badminton

If badminton matches were determined by the quality of advice a player received from their coaches, Beiwen Zhang's match against Saina Nehwal would have been termed a no contest. Sitting in the chair behind the Indian's side of the court was Pullela Gopichand. The chair in Zhang's corner meanwhile, was undisturbed.

As it turned out, that difference was inconsequential. The Indian seemed completely out of ideas, even as Zhang wrapped 21-10 21-13 triumph over the Olympic bronze medallist in the quarterfinal of the India Open World Tour 500.

"I have a coach but I can't afford to have him travel with me to tournaments," Zhang laughed after the match. "He usually just sends me an email on how to prepare before the tournament."

While Zhang doesn't have the advantage of a travelling coach, she's glad to even have a coach at all. Until very recently, her only form of training was an hour a day on a court with a single sparring partner at her home in Las Vegas.

To say Zhang runs her badminton career on a budget is being generous. She stays with her friends and travels alone to tournaments. Until Friday morning, she didn't even have a practice partner. "I have many Indian friends but they had their own matches. I was only able to find a hitting partner after (Indian doubles player) Kuhoo Garg finished her own matches on Thursday," says Zhang.

Life as a self-funded player may not be easy, but Zhang would not have it any other way. The China-born badminton player moved to Singapore when she was 13 after deciding she would have little chance of advancement in China's hyper competitive badminton setup. Once rated Singapore's top women's singles player, she later quit the Singapore team after a falling out with coach Luan Ching -- over a curfew-breaking incident during Chinese New Year.

She moved once again to Las Vegas and currently hopes to represent the USA in the 2020 Olympics. Yet for all her dreams, she has to live with the reality which consists of a lot of toil with little reward.

The 27-year-old ploughs on where a slightly less determined player might have given up. She is currently playing the India Open with an injury. "I have a torn ligament in my right foot which needs rest. I got injured in December after the Hong Kong Open. I couldn't wear shoes for three weeks. I couldn't wear slippers because they wouldn't fit because my feet were swollen. It still hurts when I warm up but I have to play with it," she says.

Zhang showed no ill effects as she blew past Nehwal in 32 minutes. Conditions on court were slow, suiting the Indian's rallying game, yet Zhang stuck to Nehwal like a leach. She dominated Nehwal at the net and never let the Indian get a loose shuttle in mid-court. Nehwal didn't hit a single smash winner in the match.

Zhang was gracious in victory, suggesting the Indian was not playing to her potential. "I've played Saina before (She lost on all three occasions) and I kept smashing and it never worked. This time I was prepared to play long rallies because clearly she (Saina) likes slow shuttles. So I was prepared to defend like crazy. But I don't think she had the greatest day today," she said. "Normally she doesn't make so many mistakes. Maybe I forced her to make a few mistakes but I don't think I was responsible for all of them.".

She might be modest about her accomplishments, but it is remarkable what Zhang has achieved with all her limitations. Currently ranked World number 11, her best result was an appearance in the final of the 2016 French Open. Having made it to the semi-finals in New Delhi, Zhang now hopes to go all the way.

"I want to win one Super Series this year," she says. Not that she is putting any pressure on herself about it. "I don't think a lot before I go on court anymore. Before this tournament I thought I was fit, but I found out I wasn't. When I played Indonesia open (in January) I prepared a lot but got crushed in first round. Now I am not very consistent. Sometimes I play bad and sometimes I play well," she says.

If she does make a habit of playing like she did on Friday night, few would bet against Zhang, regardless of the support or resources she works with.

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