Best effort No.15

Saina Nehwal - Women's Badminton
India's star shuttler Saina Nehwal had missed an Olympic medal in 2008 at Beijing after choking at the crucial moment during her all-important battle against Indonesia's Maria Kristin Yulianti. Critics had wondered if Saina would ever be able to recover from that. Didn't she answer them in style? Saina made the racket do the talking and one of the reasons she figures in this elite list is the fact that she is the only non-Chinese on the podium in women's singles. Great moment for Indian badminton.