Hyderabad, Jan 28:
After ending her prolonged title drought, Saina Nehwal today avowed that she was back to her best and that she would play select tournaments this year to be in good shape ahead of major tournaments this year — Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Saina beat talented compatriot PV Sindhu in the final to clinch Indian Open, last week.
“It feels great. Last year was not really up to the mark in terms of many things. But, it is a good start this year. Malaysian Open also, I played really well. I could see the difference in my game. But India Open was really great. I finally pulled off such a big tournament,” Saina said after returning to city from Lucknow.
“It (final) was a very good match. She (Sindhu) has been playing good. Playing against her such a good match, was really great. I think I am back to my best, just that I have to maintain and come back to even better shape for the even bigger tournaments next month.
“Right now, the important aspect is to stay fit, train as much as possible. I would like to play less tournaments if possible. I want to take care of my body, which was not very supportive last year. I had few injuries last year. I want to take care of my body well. Play well and win most of the tournaments. That is what is important now,” she said.
Saina said winning close matches during the Indian Open brought her confidence back.
“It is a great confidence booster, because I lost very close matches to lot of top players. Finally, in India Open, I got that one point of break against Chinese player. I was losing to them 21-19 and 21-19. Finally, I won this match 21-19. That gave me a lot of confidence,” she said.
Saina also thanked her mentor and Chief National Coach Pullela Gopichand for the way he planned and trained her in the run-up to the India Open in Lucknow. (PTI)
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