World Championship silver medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal is aiming to remain injury free and excel in all the Super Series tournaments in the run up to next year's Rio Olympics
Saina Nehwal
Hyderabad: World Championship silver medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal is aiming to remain injury free and excel in all the Super Series tournaments in the run up to next year's Rio Olympics.
Saina Nehwal. Pic/AP
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"Next is Japan Open, the Korea Open, all the Super Series (events). Because, it's the Olympic year, everyone is going to participate. It will be challenging to play all the top tournaments. Because the competition is going to be very, very tough everywhere. I just hope I stay injury free and be fit in every tournament and come out as a good player," Saina told PTI here.
Saina, who will officially be declared World No. 1 tomorrow, said she is now keen to win tournaments consistently. "I am happy to come out as the first Indian to achieve a lot of things in badminton. But it's not easy. It's a tough thing. You have to put in a lot of efforts, lot of sacrifice. That's what I am doing and I am working very, very hard to get the best results.
"I am a kind of person who can win back-to-back tournaments and can be more consistent. I believe that way. I just want to do that. I am sure if I am confident enough, the results will come," Saina said after returning from World Championship in Jakarta, where she lost to Spain's Carolina Marin in final to settle for a silver medal.
This was the first time that Saina managed to clear the quarterfinal jinx in the World Championship and she said the fact that she didn't take pressure helped her come out of the tournament with flying colours. "Last five times, I lost in the quarterfinals. I could not have come out of that stage if I had taken pressure. I was just thinking of how to give my best, how to improve every time.
In matches also, I was thinking about how to stay calm and more relaxed and apply those shots which I learnt in the practice. I think that worked very well during tough matches against Wang Yihan, and that's why I came out as a winner," the 25-year-old said. Saina said her shift from the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad to train under Vimal Kumar in Bangalore must be visible to all those who have been closely watching her.
"I think, people when they watch me on TV, it is visible that I have become more faster, quicker with my movements. I have improved with the shots, which I thought I could never play. I have improved a lot in net shots. The main thing I have improved is the fast-paced rallies. I was a good retriever but I made it little bit more faster in my speed," the Olympic bronze medallist said.
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