The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : Saina sixth in World rankings

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Saina sixth in World rankings

HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal, India’s ace woman shuttler by virtue of her winning the Super Series Indonesian Open singles title recently, is now has ranked World No. 6 (she was earlier World No. 7), according to the latest rankings released by the Badminton World Federation. Incidentally, this is the best-ever world ranking by any Indian woman shuttler.

Saina expressed happiness but at the same time reminded that these rankings may not mean much as there is very little gap between the top-10 players. “The significance of this ranking is that it has come ahead of the prestigious World Championship and should definitely have its own value,” she remarked.

The champion shuttler also said that she would resume intensive training from Monday since she has been flooded with interview calls by the media and felicitations since her arrival in the City after the historic victory in the Indonesian Open.

“Everything is happening so fast that the feeling of being the first Indian to win a Super Series title is yet to sink in,” Saina said.

With her mentor and chief national coach P. Gopi Chand expected to return on Saturday after a stint with the Canadian team for a few days, Saina is expected to begin her regular training.

“Significantly, success at international level has come ever since I joined Gopi Chand Academy. He is the biggest influence in the last few years as far as competing and winning major international titles is concerned,” said Saina. — Principal Correspondent

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