PTI
New Delhi, Oct 3: After stunning victories and show of grit en route to her Chinese Taipei title, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal said she was ready to challenSaina Nehwal during the 2008 Olympic Games at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.
"It was great. It was the best tour that I've ever had. I never thought that I would do so well, I mean I was confident but I was a little scared too as there was Zhu Lin and Marian Kritin Yulianti (who defeated Saina in Beijing Olympics quarter-finals) also," Saina said.
"I was really shocked when Yulianti was defeated and her loss had actually made the draw open for me," she added.
"I have lost a few matches against the top players but this tour has given me a lot of confidence. Reaching the Olympics quarter-finals was also a great confident booster. I read their (players') game and realised that I don't need to lose my focus and I should be more patient. I feel I can beat anybody in this world now," Saina said.
Evidently brimming with confidence owing to her rampaging form, the 18-year-old is confident to break into the top 10 by the year end.
"I am now world number 12, hopefully if in the next ranking I can move a place further then I feel with the Hong Kong Open and China Open that I am playing in November, I should be among the top 10 players by November end or by end of December," she said.
Saina has also set her eyes on the Commonwealth Youth Games and the World Junior Badminton Championship that gets underway in Pune this year.
"Next I am playing the Junior Commonwealth Games and the World Junior championship and I would like to give my 100 per cent. I am not taking the tournaments lightly."
"The Junior Commonwealth might be a little less tough but the World Championship will definitely be difficult. The junior shuttlers of China and some other countries are really doing well and I just want to give my best," she said.
Considering that she returned to India at the start of the week, one would expect her to take a break but Saina has already started her training session and says she doesn't feel like taking a break and want to play as much as possible.
"I don't feel like taking a break. With so many tournaments there is hardly any break. Now see I would be leaving for Pune on 10th of this month Saina Nehwal during the 2008 Olympic Games at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium. (AFP Photo)
so I have just nine days to go. I want to fine-tune my game and just want to try and do my best as much as possible," she said.
"Though I am not feeling any weakness in my game as such, but I feel I still need to improve on certain grounds. I am running well and I am primarily an attacking player but I need to concentrate on my defense as well. I also need to improve my back hands and make it perfect," she added.
While others shuttlers would favour a foreign stint for training, Saina is very much contended with the practice session that she is having with national coach Pullela Gopichand.
"I am not in favour of this foreign training stint. I am getting such world class training here. In the academy, Gopi sir plays with me, there are also some guys who play with me, I am getting all the time I need. I don't think anywhere else I will get as much time," she reasons.
On her first round exit from the Japan Open, Saina said she could not adjust to the court and lacked concentration.
"In Japan I just could not adjust properly with the court. I had just one practice session and after that I was tired, I tried to think about the game but could not concentrate enough. I was alone and missed Gopi Sir a lot."
However, the National Champion relishes the feeling of defeating world number 7 Zhu Lin in the Chinese masters and ranks it as her best match of the tour.
"But my best game of the circuit was against World champion Zhu Lin in the quarter-finals of the China Masters Super series. It was an excellent feeling."
Saina did not mince words when asked about her mentor Gopichand's academy controversy.
"It is stupid. It takes time to build such a world class academy training centre, it does not happen overnight; you need swimming pool, tennis court and a lot of other things to cater to the needs of the trainees at the academy. I don't know why some people are creating unnecessary problems for him," she said.