season (0 for 10) with a double off the w

She remembers the match well. She was 18. Scrawny. Wide-eyed. At her first Olympics. She wasnt meant to have come this far. She had no business beating the world No. 5 Wang Chen along the way. But she had. And now, against world No. 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia, she had won a marathon first game 28-26.It was the quarterfinals of the 2008 Olympics. Yulianti soon drew on all her experience to level the contest against the world junior champion from India. Game three and Saina Nehwal took an 11-3 lead. Ten more points and she would be in the semi-finals -- within touching distance of a medal.And then, just like that, in a matter of minutes it was over. Yulianti overturned the deficit and built a substantial lead of her own. Saina would return home empty-handed, but an ambition had been sparked -- to one day be called an Olympic medallist.That Olympics gave me lot of fame, lot of recognition, she says. People got to know who Saina is and (that) shes doing really well in badminton. Of course I lost the medal, but that gave me a lot of confidence that yes, I can win a medal in the Olympics.Four years later in London, the dream was realized. The gawky teenager from Beijing had transformed into a formidable force. She had won a clutch of big titles and risen steadily up the rankings. Saina versus China, the headlines exclaimed as she challenged the dominance of the foremost badminton nation in the world.In London, Saina won her first four matches in straight games before running into Chinas Wang Yihan in the semi-finals. She lost in a one-sided contest and was left in a play-off for the bronze against another Chinese, Wang Xin. Saina lost the first game but fortuitously; her opponent was forced to concede with an injury.At 22, Saina had become only the second Indian woman after weightlifter Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal.In Rio, Saina will begin the competition as one among a group of about half-a-dozen players capable of clinching gold. Though her ranking has slipped to fifth, the difference in points separating the top players is marginal and in recent months no one player has dominated the circuit.Under the eagle eye of coach Vimal Kumar, besides achieving optimal fitness, the thrust over the final phase of preparations before the Olympics has been on tactical subtleties against specific opponents. Some players such as Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei have been massive stumbling blocks for Saina. Ying has won the last six matches between them, going back to 2014 and holds an 8-5 advantage in their head to head. So perplexed is Saina by Yings play that she has described her as a mystery and a puzzle.Other potential banana skins lurk as well. The 2012 Olympic Gold medallist Li Xureui leads Saina 12-2 in their head-to-head encounters. World No. 1 Carolina Marin has won some big tournament finals against Saina in recent years and Thailands Ratchanok Intanon has also been a persistent stumbling block.Well aware but undaunted by the ferocity of competition she faces, Saina is exuding an air of confidence as the Games approach. Much of her belief flows from a healed body after battling a niggling ankle injury for months. Forced to stay away for the first few months of the year, Saina has built momentum gradually since returning to the circuit at the All England Championships in March, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Ying.In the tournaments that followed, Saina consistently reached the quarterfinal and semifinal stages before making a timely breakthrough at the Australian Open Super series in June. By clinching her last pre-Rio competitive tournament -- where she conceded only one game in five matches, including two over higher ranked players -- Saina confirmed her form, fitness and pedigree ahead of the Games.I take each tournament as it comes, she says. Rio Olympics will also be like any other games. My approach to the game is very positive and I would like to keep it like that and focus on my game. I feel that on the day that I am 100% fit, I have the potential to defeat anyone.There has been a neat symmetry to Sainas Olympic forays so far. At Beijing, she made a muscular announcement to the world of her ability. In London, she strode deservedly on to the podium as one of the leading players in the world. Perhaps Rio will be remembered as the time she basked in the golden glow -- that determined little pint of a girl, who wouldnt settle for anything less. Cheap Custom Hornets Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Cheap Hornets Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.customhornetsjersey.com/ .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Custom Hornets Jerseys . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Muggsy Bogues Jersey Large . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Although Jered Weaver is pitching with a fraction of his early-career velocity, the veteran right-hander still gets victories with craft and guile.And he never lost his curious mastery over the Chicago White Sox.Albert Pujols hit a pair of two-run homers, Weaver pitched seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Angels completed an emphatic three-game sweep of the White Sox with an 8-1 victory Sunday.After their worst first half since 1992, the injury-plagued Halos (40-52) returned from the All-Star break by outscoring Chicago 16-1. Los Angeles also escaped sole possession of last place in the AL West, pulling even with Oakland.Our motto is just to go out there and have some fun, Weaver said. Obviously were not in the position wed like to be, but thats not going to deter from going out there and competing. A sweep against a team like this is a step in the right direction.During the Angels first series sweep since mid-May, Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker and Weaver (8-7) became the first consecutive Los Angeles starters to go seven innings since July 2015.With his fastball showing a bit more speed than usual after 10 days off, Weaver beat the White Sox for the eighth time in his last eight starts against them since 2011, giving up just six hits.Im still trying to get stronger, but my body is feeling a lot better, Weaver said. Its not fun going out there and having to trick people and throw pitches that you wouldnt necessarily (want to) throw in certain counts. To have a little more of a fastball and being able to locate it keeps guys off your secondary pitches a little bit more.Pujols connected in the first and fourth innings of his 53rd multi-homer game. He has 577 career homers as he pursues Mark McGwire (583) for 10th place on baseballs career list.Obviously we didnt have a great first half, but thats the way you want to start the second half, Pujols said.Five Angels drove in a run while lighting up Jacob Turner (0-1) over the first five innings. He yielded seven hits and eight runs in his debut for the White Sox, who have lost four straight.Chicago never threatened to do much against Weaver, who repeatedly ttricked overeager hitters into harmless popups.dddddddddddd.You sit there and you marvel at the fact that its not going very hard, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. Speed isnt anything to alarm you about, but he almost throws it under that, anything thats a comfortable hitting speed. He takes a little off. Big curveball. Nothing seems to be in the middle of the plate.Omar Narvaez got his first big-league hit in his first at-bat, and he scored Chicagos first run since July 9 on Adam Eatons double moments later in the third inning. The run ended a 34-inning scoreless streak for the White Sox, who have lost six of eight.We need to score runs, Ventura said. Scoring one in a series is not going to do it for us.GOT HIS NUMBERPujols improved to 4 for 4 with three homers and six RBI in his career against Turner, who hadnt pitched in the big leagues since 2014. He got promoted from Triple-A Charlotte for a spot start because Ventura decided to give an extra day of rest to All-Star Game starter Chris Sale.BIG BLASTSPujols opened the scoring with a 431-foot homer, his first since July 2. His second homer drove in Mike Trout, who snapped his longest hitless streak of the season (0 for 10) with a double off the wall moments earlier.FIRST TASTEAlong with Narvaez, White Sox right-hander Carson Fulmer also made his big-league debut, tossing two innings of one-hit relief. The 22-year-old Fulmer, the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft, was called up from Double-A Birmingham before the series. It was impressive, Ventura said.TRAINERS ROOMWhite Sox: 3B Matt Davidson (broken foot) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Turner on the roster.Angels: Geovany Soto was scratched before the game with discomfort in his left knee.UP NEXTWhite Sox: Sale (14-3, 3.38 ERA) goes after his sixth victory in seven starts when Chicago begins a three-game series in Seattle.Angels: Nick Tropeano (3-2, 3.12 ERA) will make his third start since returning to the rotation in early July when Los Angeles hosts Texas. ' ' '