Copenhagen: With play at World Championships starting next Monday (August 25), Saina Nehwal and P.V Sindhu of India are hungry and eager to put on a good show. They sound certain that they are prepared to fare better than last year’s Guangzhou World Championships.
The 24-year-old London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal, who skipped the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games (CWG), said the withdrawal from the CWG gave her more time to rest and to prepare for the World Championships. “It was really painful to recover from the leg blisters that I sustained during Australian Open Super Series,” said Saina.
“I am a competitor, and I want to make sure I am fully prepared both physically and mentally before each tournament. I rather not play if I am not fully fit,” said Saina. “I am not too concern about the draw in World Championships, I had a tough draw in the Australian Open too, but I was still able to win the championships ultimately; and that win gave me a lot of confidence, ” added Saina.
During last year’s world championship in China, P.V Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win a medal in that premier badminton event. On her way to the semifinals, she toppled some of the top ranked players, such second seed Wang Yihan and sixth seed Wang Shixian from China before losing to eventual champion Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand.
“I was the first Indian woman to win a medal in World Championships, even though it was a bronze, but it was a special one,” recalled Sindhu.
But as Sindhu is preparing for the World Championships in Copenhagen starting August 25, the 19-year-old feels it would be a tough task.
“World Championships is a very big tournament, everybody wants to win the World Championships. I am hoping I can win a gold or silver this time, but, it’s going to be tough, but I hope to make good progress,” said Sindhu.
“Despite the disappointment in the recent CWG, I am feeling good for the World Championships,” added Sindhu.
