Saina Nehwal, the Indian Khel Ratna winning badminton player currently ranked number 3 in the world by Badminton World Federation, is one of the most promising sportsmen in today’s times.

The first Indian woman to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics and the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships, Saina created an entry into the hearts of one and all by defeating higher-ranked Chinese Wang Lin in Jakarta to clinch the Indonesia Open on June 21, 2009. The best moments of her illustrious career have been the toppling of Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta to win the Indonesia Open and lifting the Singapore Open Super series title on June 20, 2010.

Born on 17th March, 1990 at Hisar (Haryana, India), Saina was coached by S. M. Arif, a Dronacharya Award winner and is presently coached by Indonesian badminton legend Atik Jauhari since August 2008 while former All England champion and national coach Pullela Gopichand is her mentor. The female Indian Badminton player is one of the most promising Badminton players of the nation and has always emphasized upon fair play and skills.

Being a National Junior champion in 2004 and 2005, Saina has performed well in all the tournaments in which she has participated. The determination, conviction, and willpower of this 20-year old are surely lessons for those who think that success comes with age. On October 14th 2010, Saina Nehwal conquered the Commonwealth games gold medal by defeating Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia 19-21, 23-21, 21-13.

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Badminton demands explosive power. The key body parts to be strengthened are wrist, elbows, shoulders, neck, chest, abdomen, back, thighs, knees and ankles because they are actively involved in the game play. Hence, upper body Plyometric exercises are required for badminton players to improve the performance in the game. Here is how to do upper body Plyometric exercises.

The simplest form of power training is weight lifting exercise. The bench presses give explosive power.

Overhead Throws
1. Stand with one foot in front and then bend your knees slightly.
2. Pull the ball back behind head. Throw the ball forcefully into the wall.
3. When the ball bounces back, catch the ball and repeat this step thrice or according to the prescribed repetitions.
The step should be done with speed.

Side Throws
1. Position yourself with your feet hip-width apart. Your left foot should be around one foot in front of right foot.
2. Hold the ball with both hands and bend your arms slightly.
3. Now, swing the ball over to the right hip and forcefully underhand toss ball forward to the wall. Keep the stomach drawn in to facilitate the maximum and proper usage of muscles.
4. Catch ball when it bounces from the wall.

Over Back Toss
1. Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Have a partner or trainer stand approximately 10-15 yards behind you.
2. Grasp ball and lower body into a semi-squat position. Explode up extending the entire body and throwing medicine ball up and over the body.
3. The goal is to throw the ball behind you as far as you and generating most of the power in the legs.
4. Catch ball on the bounce from your partner and repeat the step.

Slams
1. To do this trick, you need to stand with your feet parallel, shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
2. First, pull the ball back behind head and forcefully throw the ball down on the ground as hard as possible.
3. Catch the ball on the bounce from the ground and repeat the step.