Saina to work with cricket team's performance analyst

Badminton star Saina Nehwal will work with Indian cricket team's performance analyst S. Ramakrishan to finetune her game in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), which is helping Saina and other athletes to win Olympic medal, has roped in the analyst to work with the shuttler and her coach Pullela Gopichand.

Ramakrishnan, who travelled with the Indian team between 2003 and 2007 and still provides backhand information, has spoken to Gopichand on the specific things he will focus on.

"Indian cricket team has reaped huge benefits by using technology. We will try to replicate that into other sports as well," Ramakrishnan, who is also the director of sports technology firm Sports Mechanics, told IANS.

"We have a little over 12 months left for Olympics. In the first six months we will collect data and footage on Saina and her main opponents.

"We will sit with her and the coach and work on all possible aspects of her game. Besides, Saina will be shown the video of every match she plays from now on."

Ramakrishan, popularly known as Ramki, revealed that in the last six months before the Olympics Saina will be using the simulator to play against her toughest opponents.

"Based on the data and information we get from Saina, we will make her practice on the simulator. This should give her a clear idea of her and her rivals strong and weak points."

Hopes will rest on shooters for a medal after Abhinav Bindra got India's maiden individual Oympics gold in Beijing.

The OGQ, which is associated with nine top shooters including Gagan Narang, has hired a Kazakh masseur.

"It is a very important job. Our muscles take a lot of load while we are practising with the rifle. A good masseur can relax out stiff muscles. I am glad we have a specialist in place with one year to go," said Narang.

The 23 athletes nurtured by the OGQ will also be getting the services of performance and mental coach Abha Maryada Banerjee.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer Manoj Kumar, the latest athlete to join OGQ, said he is looking forward to make the most of the tie up.