Saina eyes return to top

Feb 06, 2011 |

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Saina Nehwal

Feb. 6: World No.5 Saina Nehwal will start her 2011 season participating in the All England Badminton Championship in Birmingham next month as she is returning to the courts after an ankle injury.

“I need four weeks to make a comeback so I wont be participating in any event before the All England championships. I am looking forward to the All England and then the Swiss Open to start with,” she said at the sidelines of a coaching clinic that she conducted in the city on Sunday.

In the All England Championships that will be held from March 8-13, she will be pitted against the best in the world including top Chinese rivals. Though Saina’s ranking dipped from two to five, she still had a great 2010 — winning three consecutive super series and Commonwealth Games gold last year. She is raring to go after her dream run was stymied by an ankle injury.

“I was not fully fit in the Korean Open. I missed five weeks of training and had just one week to practice. I will take some more time to be fully fit,” added the 21-year-old Hyderabadi. “2011 is a crucial year for me and my focus will be to win as many tournaments as possible. Another major event I am targeting is the world championship in August,” she added.

Talking about the clinic that she conducted for kids, she said that she started very late, at nine years, and that she feels that kids should be introduced to any sport when they are three or four. “I started when I was nine, but I feel that three or four is the ideal age. Nobody believes that I performed so well in such a short period of time. But I guess I am lucky,” she added.
saina roots for india at world cup

With the World Cup fever catching on and the people of the country just waiting for the mega cricketing extravaganza to begin, like any Indian, even Saina Nehwal is hoping that the India win the World Cup this time.

“After I was signed on by the Deccan Chronicle group, I used to follow a bit of the IPL. I wish the Indian team all the best and I hope that they win the World Cup,” she said. “I will be following their matches as and when I can. I know that there will be a lot of pressure as the tournament is happening in the subcontinent, but I am sure they can do it,” she added.

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