Saina Nehwal one rung from being world No 1

Saina Nehwal has regained her second position in the women’s badminton singles world rankings. The 22-year-old has been rising in the rankings since winning the Olympic bronze in London last year as World No 5.

When the latest list was released by the Badminton World Federation on Thursday, Saina shunted out former World No 1 Yihan Wang of China from the second rank and is now only next to London Games winner Li Xuerui.

“It (No 2 rank) is a rare feat. I am fortunate to compete with the Chinese and come second for the third time (the last time was in 2010). No 1 is in sight provided I am fit. I am doing my best to be on top,” Saina told DNA from Kuala Lumpur where she has entered the Malaysia Open Super Series quarterfinals.

Saina was previously ranked second on three occasions in 2010 — July 15-September 1, November 25-December 8 and December 16-22.

The Hyderabadi admitted that it would require a tremendous effort to climb from No 2 to No 1. “It is very difficult to touch the top. Badminton is a physically demanding game and requires a lot of strength to stay on top. To get there, I have to remain fit and healthy. I will try my best to win many more tournaments,” Saina said. The shuttler has been fighting injury even before she won the Olympic bronze.

Though rankings do not necessarily reveal the true calibre of a player, Saina admitted that consistency was the key to stay on top. “I agree that rankings have no meaning up to 20 or 25. Anybody can beat any other player on a given day. But the rankings show how consistent one is,”she said.

Her knee has been causing her a lot of trouble and she has had no rest because the calendar has been very demanding. “Since I am not 100 per cent fit, my stamina is not as good as it used to be. My physio wraps up my knee before my match daily,” Saina said.
Meanwhile, Parupalli Kashyap has moved up one place from 11 to enter the top-10 in men’s singles while PV Sindhu rose from 17 to 16 in the women’s singles rankings.