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As India’s Saina Nehwal jumped for joy after winning her first Super Series women’s singles crown, there was more than a hint of Indonesia in Sunday’s performance.

Not only did her breakthrough win — a 12-21, 21-18, 21-9 triumph against third-seeded Wang Lin of China — come in Jakarta’s Istora Gelora Bung Karno stadium, it came not long after India asked an Indonesian coach to lead its national team. Nehwal, who swept aside No. 7 seed Lu Lan of China 25-23, 21-19 in the semifinals, broke into tears after her victory. She applauded the 5,000 spectators who cheered her on, and then threw her racquet into the crowd.

“I just can’t believe it. The draw was so hard this year, and I worked very hard for this,” the 19-year-old said.

“This is a dream come true for me. Now I’m getting confidence to play in front of my home country in the World Championship. I thank the audience for supporting me.”

The World Championship takes place on Aug. 10-16 in Hyderabad.

Nehwal admitted she struggled with her focus under the gaze of so many spectators during the first and second games. “In the last game, I really did focus on the match and stopped listening to the crowd,” she said.

One person who will be delighted at that mental toughness is Nehwal’s coach, Atik Jauhari. India hired Atik to lead its national team in August 2008, and among his tasks was to help Nehwal break into the world top five by the end of 2010.

“Looking at her efforts, I’m sure she can enter the top five sooner, not just in 2010,” said Atik, who coached the Indonesia national team for 27 years.

Atik said he has encountered few problems during his time in India, which has included managing its training program and setting targets for its shuttlers.

“Most of the players come from middle or upper-class families, so money is not a big thing for them to participate in world competitions,” Atik said. “And the culture really helps me a lot as a coach. Indian people take their guru or coach as dewa [god], after their mothers and fathers.”

Nehwal, the first Indian woman to win a Super Series title, credited Atik with improving her performance, particularly in defense and smashes.

Among a group of Indians celebrating Nehwal’s success was Rakesh Mittal, who traveled from Purwakarta, West Java, to support the young shuttler. In addition to presenting Nehwal with an Indian flag, they also gave her chocolate and a can of coffee candies.

“In Indian culture, we give sweets to those who succeed in something. We used to give them ladoo [Indian traditional sweets], but since we couldn’t find it here, we gave her chocolate and candies,” Mittal said. “Saina is one of India’s powerful women, besides tennis player Sania Mirza and Sonia Gandhi. She’s really making us proud. That’s why we came from far away to support her.”