Saina Nehwal says she is unperturbed at the prospects of facing world no 13 Jiang Yangiao in the first round of women's singles at the World Championships in Madrid.
The 16-year-old is making her maiden appearance at the prestigious event.
She was unlucky to draw a top player in her opening match as the women's draw was redone following an error by the International Badminton Federation earlier.
But the teenager, ranked 30, remained unfazed.
"I have not played her before. The earlier draw was quite easy but it was changed at the last moment. But I have trained well and would give my best," Saina said.
Looking up
Starting with the Philippines Open triumph in May, Saina has seen a meteoric rise in her very first year in the IBF circuit, to some extent surpassing her own expectations.
"I thought of getting into the top 30 at the end of the year but now I could reset my goals. Now my goal is to reach the top-10," she said.
"This is my first world championship and the ranking has boosted my confidence. But rankings will improve only if I keep on performing well".
In her last two events, she reached the pre-quarterfinal of the six-star Korean Open and then made it to the second round of Hong Kong Open where she gave a tough fight to top seed Ning Zhang of China.
(source: ndtv)
