Bangalore, Sept 28: Saina Nehwal, who has won a bronze medal during London Olympics 2012, has added another feather to her crown. The ace badminton player on Friday, Sept 28 flew a Kiran MK II jet trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Dundigal in Andhra Pradesh.

22-year-old Saina has achieved a milestone which is yet to be achieved by the legendary cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni who have been granted honorary ranks by IAF. According to sources, both cricketers were offered to fly in the jet but they could not accept the offer over time constraints.

Sachin was made an honorary Group Captain by the IAF 2011 whereas captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was offered a sortie in frontline fighter aircraft SU-30MKI for their contribution in the field of cricket.

Saina has been invited to visit IAF's training academy in order to attend the closing ceremony of the Inter Squadron Sports Championship as a special guest, during which she is scheduled to fly a sortie on MK II.

A press release by IAF said, "She is also scheduled to witness the closing ceremony of the sports championship, where she would be playing an exhibition badminton match and also interact with the cadets at the Academy."

Rookie pilots of IAF are given training to fly Kiran Mk II aircraft before they move to fly other fighter and transport aircraft.

OneIndia News