India’s ace woman shuttler Saina Nehwal arrived here on Tuesday to a rousing welcome by fans and well wishers after she clinched the Indonesian Open title, thus completing a hat-trick of title wins in the last ten days.
The ace shuttler, who is presently ranked No. 3 in the world, was taken in a procession on an open jeep from the Shamshabad airport to the city.Sending a clear message to all those who tried to bog her down, she said, “I’ve proved all my critics wrong.”
Speaking to reporters, the No 3 badminton player in the world said: "I cannot believe I won three tournaments in a row. One thing led to another. From Grand Prix to the Singapore Open and now the Indonesia Super Series ".
Being extremely humble and practical after the historic wins, she said the elusive No 1 rank was still not her top priority and said even the number three ranking was unexpected as she was simply hoping to concentrate on her best game rather than such milestones.
"Limiting my tournaments this year, has helped me get trained more and therefore I was able to win the major tournaments," Saina said.
She gave full credit to her coach and former All-England champion Pullela Gopichand and called him her biggest inspiration.
"Gopichand has been my biggest inspiration. He stood by me, even in rough times," she added.Wary of the tough competition she’d have in the coming months, she said, "All my competitors are playing so well, it is hard to say who my biggest competitor is."
"To beat the World No 1 is going to be the toughest at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games. On the international level, you never know who's going to put up a big fight. I am going to prepare myself to face all my opponents," she observed.