Sport - Badminton

‘My target is to break into the top 10’

HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal’s confidence has soared and she is not scared of taking on any player in the international circuit these days.

“I am really pleased with the way things have gone in the recent past, including the Beijing Olympics,” said Saina during a media interaction at the Gopi Chand Academy here on Monday.

“The major difference in my game is that I am moving around the court faster and with greater confidence. I don’t think there are too many areas of concern in my game now.

“All that I have to do is put in a lot of hard work and sustain my form,” the National champion said.

“My target is to break into the top 10 by year-end. I am hoping for a favourable draw in some of the big events lined up now.

“The Super Series is always a different proposition where very little separates the players,” Saina, ranked No. 12 in the world now.

“Right now I am happy training under Gopi Anna (India’s chief national coach Gopi Chand). I don’t believe in the concept that the Indian shuttlers can be good only if they are trained by a foreign coach. From my experience in Malaysia recently, I can say all that you get there is good match practice against a couple of big names, but not eight hours of daily training schedule as I get in Hyderabad,” she said.

Looking back at the last two weeks, Saina said the title triumph in the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold event was something special and one she would cherish for a long time. “It was a really memorable moment in my career which made me believe that I can reach levels that I would not have thought of even a few months ago,” Saina said.

On the semifinal loss in the China Masters, Saina confessed that she was nervous. “The fact that I was alone there might have also been one of the factors for the defeat,” she said.

The 18-year-old BPCL officer said that her current World No. 12 ranking doesn’t necessarily mean she would be under pressure by way of expectations.

“I am used to all these things by now. The Beijing Olympics experience taught me many things. I can say that I have peaked in recent weeks. What is important is to keep doing well at the highest level,” she said.

Gopi Chand said that Saina’s game has really improved in recent times and all she needed to do was to keep the momentum going.

“I don’t see anything wrong in her game now. She needs to be focused for a longer period to win more titles,” said Gopi.

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