In the opening clash of the tie between Spain and India, India's lead women's singles player at the Uber Cup, Saina Nehwal was forced to retire from her opening match against Clara Azurmendi when she felt a sudden pain in her groin here at the Ceres Arena in Aarhus on Sunday.

Before retiring from the match, the Indian narrowly lost the opening game 20-22 to the world no 58 Azurmendi. With that, Saina was then unable to continue the second game."There was a certain catch in my groin. I was surprised at how it happened," Saina said as per Olympics.com.

"I was trying to get back my rhythm and I couldn't get it and I had to give it up because it was hurting when I was taking long lunges.

"Asked what this means for the rest of the tournament, the 31-year-old replied, "I think let us see the next three, four days, how it is. There are two more matches, so I just want to see how it goes. I don't want to take any sudden decision at the moment because my body feels good but this groin issue has to go."

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/no-hardik-pandya-virender-sehwag-names-3-players-mumbai-indians-should-retain-ahead-of-ipl-mega-auction-419581">No Hardik Pandya! Virender Sehwag names 3 players Mumbai Indians should retain ahead of IPL mega auction</a>

An Olympic bronze medallist, Saina Nehwal has been struggling on the court to deliver results in the last two years and even missed the cut for Tokyo 2020. Saina Nehwal last won a tournament in 2019, when she beat Spain's Olympic champion, Carolina Marin, in the final of the Indonesia Masters.

Since May 2019, Saina Nehwal has competed in 20 tournaments and fallen in the opening round 14 times and exited in the second round twice.

Saina Nehwal last competed at the Orleans Masters in March, making it to the semi-finals, her first since the 2019 Indonesian Masters.&nbsp;

In the opening clash of the tie between Spain and India, India's lead women's singles player at the Uber Cup, Saina Nehwal was forced to retire from her opening match against Clara Azurmendi when she felt a sudden pain in her groin here at the Ceres Arena in Aarhus on Sunday.

In the opening clash of the tie between Spain and India, India's lead women's singles player at the Uber Cup, Saina Nehwal was forced to retire from her opening match against Clara Azurmendi when she felt a sudden pain in her groin here at the Ceres Arena in Aarhus on Sunday. Before retiring from the match, the Indian narrowly lost the opening game 20-22 to the world no 58 Azurmendi. With that, Saina was then unable to continue the second game."There was a certain catch in my groin. I was surprised at how it happened," Saina said as per Olympics.com. "I was trying to get back my rhythm and I couldn't get it and I had to give it up because it was hurting when I was taking long lunges. "Asked what this means for the rest of the tournament, the 31-year-old replied, "I think let us see the next three, four days, how it is. There are two more matches, so I just want to see how it goes. I don't want to take any sudden decision at the moment because my body feels good but this groin issue has to go." Also Read: No Hardik Pandya! Virender Sehwag names 3 players Mumbai Indians should retain ahead of IPL mega auction An Olympic bronze medallist, Saina Nehwal has been struggling on the court to deliver results in the last two years and even missed the cut for Tokyo 2020. Saina Nehwal last won a tournament in 2019, when she beat Spain's Olympic champion, Carolina Marin, in the final of the Indonesia Masters. Since May 2019, Saina Nehwal has competed in 20 tournaments and fallen in the opening round 14 times and exited in the second round twice. Saina Nehwal last competed at the Orleans Masters in March, making it to the semi-finals, her first since the 2019 Indonesian Masters.

Uber Cup: Saina Nehwal retires with injury against Spain

Amazon Prime Video today announced the digital premiere of the recently released and critically acclaimed Bollywood sports biopic, Saina. 
&nbsp;With Parineeti Chopra as the lead, the film follows the career highs and lows of Saina Nehwal, one of India's ace shuttlers and one of the most celebrated badminton players in the country.&nbsp;

The biopic highlights the people who have been an integral part of Saina’s professional journey and contributed to building her resilience and unbreakable spirit. Saina is directed by renowned filmmaker Amole Gupte (Stanley Ka Dabba) and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Sujay Jairaj and Rashesh Shah, co-produced by Vinod Bhanushali and Shiv Chanana under the banner of T-Series, Deepa Bhatia(Amole Gupte Cinema) and Front Foot Pictures.&nbsp;

Starting April 23rd, Prime members in India and across 240 countries and territories can stream Saina from the comforts of their homes. 
The film chronicles Saina's childhood, her growing interest in badminton and her move from Haryana to Hyderabad, where she meets the coach who changed her life. The story speaks of her struggles and achievements and the journey to earn a leading position in the world of sports.&nbsp;

The movie is an inspiring tale of a sports personality, featuring aspects of personal and professional life, aimed to encourage, inform and entertain the audiences.&nbsp; 
 
"I am extremely thrilled with the film having a global digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video, bringing such an inspirational story to audiences across the world,” said Parineeti Chopra about the film’s digital release, and continued further, “With this film, I have learnt that a biographical film comes with many challenges; my biggest challenge as an actor was to get into Saina Nehwal’s shoes, literally and figuratively, to stay true to the story and recreate her accomplishments and hardships. As an actor, I embraced each challenge, and I do think that I learnt a lot as a professional in the process. I worked on the physical appearance and the right body language, and I am glad it worked out in my favour. I had a great time working on this film."

Amazon Prime Video today announced the digital premiere of the recently released and critically acclaimed Bollywood sports biopic, Saina. With Parineeti Chopra as the lead, the film follows the career highs and lows of Saina Nehwal, one of India's ace shuttlers and one of the most celebrated badminton players in the country.

Amazon Prime Video today announced the digital premiere of the recently released and critically acclaimed Bollywood sports biopic, Saina. With Parineeti Chopra as the lead, the film follows the career highs and lows of Saina Nehwal, one of India's ace shuttlers and one of the most celebrated badminton players in the country. The biopic highlights the people who have been an integral part of Saina’s professional journey and contributed to building her resilience and unbreakable spirit. Saina is directed by renowned filmmaker Amole Gupte (Stanley Ka Dabba) and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Sujay Jairaj and Rashesh Shah, co-produced by Vinod Bhanushali and Shiv Chanana under the banner of T-Series, Deepa Bhatia(Amole Gupte Cinema) and Front Foot Pictures. Starting April 23rd, Prime members in India and across 240 countries and territories can stream Saina from the comforts of their homes. The film chronicles Saina's childhood, her growing interest in badminton and her move from Haryana to Hyderabad, where she meets the coach who changed her life. The story speaks of her struggles and achievements and the journey to earn a leading position in the world of sports. The movie is an inspiring tale of a sports personality, featuring aspects of personal and professional life, aimed to encourage, inform and entertain the audiences. "I am extremely thrilled with the film having a global digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video, bringing such an inspirational story to audiences across the world,” said Parineeti Chopra about the film’s digital release, and continued further, “With this film, I have learnt that a biographical film comes with many challenges; my biggest challenge as an actor was to get into Saina Nehwal’s shoes, literally and figuratively, to stay true to the story and recreate her accomplishments and hardships. As an actor, I embraced each challenge, and I do think that I learnt a lot as a professional in the process. I worked on the physical appearance and the right body language, and I am glad it worked out in my favour. I had a great time working on this film."

Parineeti Chopra starrer 'Saina' to premiere on Amazon Prime Video

Saina Nehwal's biopic 'Saina' starring Parineeti Chopra is set to release in theaters on March 26.&nbsp; 
 
Parineeti Chopra took to Instagram to announce the release date of her new film Saina.&nbsp; Parineeti shared the poster of the film and captioned it: "SAINA! In cinemas 26th March @nehwalsaina #AmoleGupte @manavkaul @eshan.naqvi #BhushanKumar #DeepaBhatia @sujay.jairaj #RaseshShah #KrishanKumar @amaal_mallik @manojmuntashir @kunaalvermaa @tseries.official @tseriesfilms #FrontFootPictures #AGCPL #Saina." 
 
&nbsp;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
SAINA! 🏸 In cinemas 26th March 😁<a href="https://twitter.com/NSaina?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NSaina</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmoleGupte?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AmoleGupte</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ManavKaul?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ManavKaul</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/eshannaqvi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@eshannaqvi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BhushanKumar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BhushanKumar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/deepabhatia11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@deepabhatia11</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Sujay_Jairaj?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sujay_Jairaj</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/raseshtweets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@raseshtweets</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KrishanKumar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KrishanKumar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AmaalMallik?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmaalMallik</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/manojmuntashir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@manojmuntashir</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/kunaalvermaa77?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kunaalvermaa77</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TSeries?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSeries</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FrontFootPictures?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FrontFootPictures</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AGCPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AGCPL</a> <a href="https://t.co/nal6THSEwn">pic.twitter.com/nal6THSEwn</a>
— Parineeti Chopra (@ParineetiChopra) <a href="https://twitter.com/ParineetiChopra/status/1366628552360095751?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The film is directed by Amole Gupte and was shot in 2019. It was originally supposed to release in the summer of last year but got delayed due to the ongoing&nbsp;pandemic. Shraddha Kapoor was initially cast as Saina Nehwal but was later replaced by Parineeti. 
 
Parineeti, who seen recently in Netflix's 'The Girl On Train Train' has a busy March as her other&nbsp;film 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar" is set to release on March 19. Directed by&nbsp;Dibakar Banerjee, the film also stars Arjun Kapoor in the lead role. 
 
&nbsp;

Saina Nehwal's biopic 'Saina' starring Parineeti Chopra is set to release in theaters on March 26. Parineeti Chopra took to Instagram to announce the release date of her new film Saina.

Saina Nehwal's biopic 'Saina' starring Parineeti Chopra is set to release in theaters on March 26. Parineeti Chopra took to Instagram to announce the release date of her new film Saina. Parineeti shared the poster of the film and captioned it: "SAINA! In cinemas 26th March @nehwalsaina #AmoleGupte @manavkaul @eshan.naqvi #BhushanKumar #DeepaBhatia @sujay.jairaj #RaseshShah #KrishanKumar @amaal_mallik @manojmuntashir @kunaalvermaa @tseries.official @tseriesfilms #FrontFootPictures #AGCPL #Saina." SAINA! 🏸 In cinemas 26th March 😁@NSaina #AmoleGupte #ManavKaul @eshannaqvi #BhushanKumar @deepabhatia11 @Sujay_Jairaj @raseshtweets #KrishanKumar @AmaalMallik @manojmuntashir @kunaalvermaa77 @TSeries #FrontFootPictures #AGCPL pic.twitter.com/nal6THSEwn — Parineeti Chopra (@ParineetiChopra) March 2, 2021 × The film is directed by Amole Gupte and was shot in 2019. It was originally supposed to release in the summer of last year but got delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. Shraddha Kapoor was initially cast as Saina Nehwal but was later replaced by Parineeti. Parineeti, who seen recently in Netflix's 'The Girl On Train Train' has a busy March as her other film 'Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar" is set to release on March 19. Directed by Dibakar Banerjee, the film also stars Arjun Kapoor in the lead role.

Parineeti Chopra-starrer biopic 'Saina' gets a release date

Shraddha Kapoor has started filming for Saina - a biopic on Badminton champion Saina Nehwal. The film was announced sometime in 2017 but got delayed due to various reasons. Kapoor was seen dressed as her character on the film's set.&nbsp; 
 
Interestingly, Shraddha had visitors on the first day of the shoot. Saina Nehwal's parents came to wish the crew the best as they began shooting for the film.&nbsp; 
Directed by Amole Gupte, 'Saina' will be produced by T-Series.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<img alt="Shraddha Kapoor on the sets of 'Saina' a biopic on Saina Nehwal's life. Image by Yogen Shah" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7d7fde9-ab28-44e2-ae8e-7e6f093d0f06" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Saina1.jpg" />

<img alt="Saina Nehwal's parents came to wish the crew as they began filming. Image by Yogen Shah." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="582f3669-a6b7-4dfc-80fd-5cc3bbe14def" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Saina2.jpg" />

<img alt="'Saina' is being directed by Amole Gupte and produced by T-Series. " data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6f52f25e-b9ac-4953-850f-aae087cb565a" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/saina3.jpg" /> 
"It is a physically demanding film. But it is an inspiring story as so many people look up to her. I feel grateful to be playing that part. I will begin shooting for it next month and the prep is on. I am having a great time playing badminton. It is fabulous to be part of such a great story," the actress has earlier told a news agency about her role.

Asked if she has mastered the game by now, she said, "I don't know that. I am trying to. It is the second most difficult sport in the world. It is not easy."

To prepare for her role, the actress spent quality time with Nehwal and even visited her at her home.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Shraddha Kapoor has started filming for Saina - a biopic on Badminton champion Saina Nehwal. The film was announced sometime in 2017 but got delayed due to various reasons.

Shraddha Kapoor has started filming for Saina - a biopic on Badminton champion Saina Nehwal. The film was announced sometime in 2017 but got delayed due to various reasons. Kapoor was seen dressed as her character on the film's set. Interestingly, Shraddha had visitors on the first day of the shoot. Saina Nehwal's parents came to wish the crew the best as they began shooting for the film. Directed by Amole Gupte, 'Saina' will be produced by T-Series. "It is a physically demanding film. But it is an inspiring story as so many people look up to her. I feel grateful to be playing that part. I will begin shooting for it next month and the prep is on. I am having a great time playing badminton. It is fabulous to be part of such a great story," the actress has earlier told a news agency about her role. Asked if she has mastered the game by now, she said, "I don't know that. I am trying to. It is the second most difficult sport in the world. It is not easy." To prepare for her role, the actress spent quality time with Nehwal and even visited her at her home.

Shraddha Kapoor starts shooting for Saina Nehwal's biopic; badmintion champ's parents visit her on set

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal, one of the country&#39;s strongest medal hope, kicked off her campaign at the Rio Olympics on a winning note as she brushed aside Brazil&#39;s Lohaynny Vicente in straight games in the opening match of the women&#39;s singles event on Wednesday. 
 
Saina, the bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, produced an imperious form throughout the match to register an emphatic 21-17, 21-17 win over her Brazilian compatriot in the one-sided contest that lasted for 39 minutes at Riocentro- Pavilion. 
 
The 26-year-old will play her next Group G match against Ukraine&#39;s&nbsp;Ulitina Maria. 
 
Earlier today, PV Sindhu, the other shuttler in fray, also made a great start to her badminton campaign by thrashing Hungary&#39;s Laura Sarosi 21-8, 21-9 in her opening round. 
 
Meanwhile, the Indian women&#39;s double pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had lost 15-21, 10-21 to top-ranked Japanese pair of Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsumoto in a match which lasted 36 minutes in their Group A opener. 
 
In the men&#39;s doubles competition, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy also suffered a 18-21, 13-21 defeat at the hands of World Number 2 Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in their first match. 
 
(ANI) 
&nbsp;

Saina produced an imperious form throughout the match to register an emphatic 21-17, 21-17 win over Brazil's Lohaynny Vicente

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal, one of the country's strongest medal hope, kicked off her campaign at the Rio Olympics on a winning note as she brushed aside Brazil's Lohaynny Vicente in straight games in the opening match of the women's singles event on Wednesday. Saina, the bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, produced an imperious form throughout the match to register an emphatic 21-17, 21-17 win over her Brazilian compatriot in the one-sided contest that lasted for 39 minutes at Riocentro- Pavilion. The 26-year-old will play her next Group G match against Ukraine's Ulitina Maria. Earlier today, PV Sindhu, the other shuttler in fray, also made a great start to her badminton campaign by thrashing Hungary's Laura Sarosi 21-8, 21-9 in her opening round. Meanwhile, the Indian women's double pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had lost 15-21, 10-21 to top-ranked Japanese pair of Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsumoto in a match which lasted 36 minutes in their Group A opener. In the men's doubles competition, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy also suffered a 18-21, 13-21 defeat at the hands of World Number 2 Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in their first match. (ANI)

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal gets off to winning start in Rio Olympics

Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal is better equipped to win a medal in Rio in August than she was when she claimed a bronze at the London Olympics four years ago, according to former All England champion Prakash Padukone. 
 
Hopes that the former world number one can turn bronze into a first Olympic gold medal in the sport for her country were raised when Nehwal won the 2016 Australian Superseries title. 
 
Rio will mark a third Olympics for Nehwal, who beat former world champions Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand and Wang Yihan before overpowering China&#39;s Sun Yu in the final in Sydney. 
 
&quot;Saina has a lot more variety now,&quot; former men&#39;s world number one Padukone said in an interview. &quot;I think she plays a lot more at the net now. Earlier her game was more or less predictable. She had a few strokes, she used to keep playing them and there were not many variations. Now she has developed a lot more strokes, specially at the net. She is much more confident and that has made a big difference.&quot; 
 
The victory in Australia came at just the right time for Nehwal, who had failed to reach a World Superseries final since last November in China, and was returning from an Achilles injury she sustained at the end of last year. 
 
Padukone, who won the All England title in 1980 long before badminton was admitted to the Olympics in 1992, said the 26-year-old&#39;s game just needed a bit of tweaking. 
 
&quot;Tactically she can do a little bit more. Maybe a plan A and plan B, which I&#39;m sure she already has,&quot; said Padukone. &quot;Maybe if something doesn&#39;t work, then she has to have a different plan. It&#39;s just the question of a little bit of polishing. She definitely has everything otherwise she wouldn&#39;t have been where she is.&quot; 
 
China has long been the dominant force in the sport, sweeping all five titles at London four years ago, but their shuttlers no longer top the world rankings heading to Rio. While Malaysian Lee Chong Wei tops the men&#39;s singles rankings, Carolina Marin of Spain leads the women&#39;s list with Nehwal in sixth place. 
 
World Badminton has also limited each nation to two singles entrants in each event, down from the three at London and previous Games. Padukone feels that makes a Chinese sweep of badminton gold in Rio less likely. 
 
&quot;They are no longer the dominating force going by the results we have seen in the last 12 to 24 months,&quot; Padukone said. &quot;Earlier when the draw used to come, everybody used to hope there are no Chinese. That&#39;s no longer the case, that fear is not there anymore. That&#39;s good for the game. For the Indians, though they wouldn&#39;t say it, but it used to be a mind-block.&quot; 
 
India&#39;s best chance of medals will come in the women&#39;s singles, Padukone said, where as well as Nehwal they have PV Sindhu ranked 10th in the world. 
 
Padukone said the most important thing for the Indian shuttlers was to peak during the Rio Games. 
 
&quot;When you go there it doesn&#39;t matter if in the last two months you have beaten all the top players and you have been the world number one,&quot; Padukone said. &quot;It&#39;s important that you reach the peak and play your best during that particular week. That&#39;s what will count ultimately and will be the key.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Padukone, who won the All England title in 1980, said the 26-year-old's game just needed a bit of tweaking

Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal is better equipped to win a medal in Rio in August than she was when she claimed a bronze at the London Olympics four years ago, according to former All England champion Prakash Padukone. Hopes that the former world number one can turn bronze into a first Olympic gold medal in the sport for her country were raised when Nehwal won the 2016 Australian Superseries title. Rio will mark a third Olympics for Nehwal, who beat former world champions Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand and Wang Yihan before overpowering China's Sun Yu in the final in Sydney. "Saina has a lot more variety now," former men's world number one Padukone said in an interview. "I think she plays a lot more at the net now. Earlier her game was more or less predictable. She had a few strokes, she used to keep playing them and there were not many variations. Now she has developed a lot more strokes, specially at the net. She is much more confident and that has made a big difference." The victory in Australia came at just the right time for Nehwal, who had failed to reach a World Superseries final since last November in China, and was returning from an Achilles injury she sustained at the end of last year. Padukone, who won the All England title in 1980 long before badminton was admitted to the Olympics in 1992, said the 26-year-old's game just needed a bit of tweaking. "Tactically she can do a little bit more. Maybe a plan A and plan B, which I'm sure she already has," said Padukone. "Maybe if something doesn't work, then she has to have a different plan. It's just the question of a little bit of polishing. She definitely has everything otherwise she wouldn't have been where she is." China has long been the dominant force in the sport, sweeping all five titles at London four years ago, but their shuttlers no longer top the world rankings heading to Rio. While Malaysian Lee Chong Wei tops the men's singles rankings, Carolina Marin of Spain leads the women's list with Nehwal in sixth place. World Badminton has also limited each nation to two singles entrants in each event, down from the three at London and previous Games. Padukone feels that makes a Chinese sweep of badminton gold in Rio less likely. "They are no longer the dominating force going by the results we have seen in the last 12 to 24 months," Padukone said. "Earlier when the draw used to come, everybody used to hope there are no Chinese. That's no longer the case, that fear is not there anymore. That's good for the game. For the Indians, though they wouldn't say it, but it used to be a mind-block." India's best chance of medals will come in the women's singles, Padukone said, where as well as Nehwal they have PV Sindhu ranked 10th in the world. Padukone said the most important thing for the Indian shuttlers was to peak during the Rio Games. "When you go there it doesn't matter if in the last two months you have beaten all the top players and you have been the world number one," Padukone said. "It's important that you reach the peak and play your best during that particular week. That's what will count ultimately and will be the key." (Reuters)

Former badminton great Padukone pins Olympic medal hopes on India's Saina Nehwal

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal eschews the &quot;natural talent&quot; tag thrust upon her by the media in her country. Nehwal, who won an Olympic bronze medal four years ago in London, feels that it&#39;s her hard work and grit that&#39;s allowed for her to be seen as a serious contender for gold at the Rio games later this year.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Whatever I am today, it&#39;s because of my coaches,&quot; Nehwal told Reuters in an email interview following her victory at the Australian Open last week. &quot;They taught me smash, dribble and net game in copybook style and I trained five to six hours daily to master them.&quot; 
 
&quot;I am a worker and my coaches know how to get the best out of me,&quot; added the 26-year-old, who became the first Indian shuttler to win an Olympic medal in 2012. 
 
While winning a medal in London was celebrated back home in success-starved India, her rise to the top of the world singles rankings in April last year was no less significant. 
 
It marked the first time a non-Chinese shuttler sat atop the women&#39;s singles rankings since Denmark&#39;s Tine Baun in late 2010. 
 
Nehwal, who will be 30 by the time the 2020 Olympics come around in Tokyo, believes Rio is her best chance to win gold. 
 
&quot;For 2020?, it depends on my progress and health conditions. Rio is an ideal place to showcase my game,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;You can&#39;t predict results. You need hard work and God&#39;s blessing, apart from support from the fraternity,&quot; the world number six said. 
 
Rio will mark a third Olympics for Nehwal, who is hitting a rich vein of form at exactly the right time. 
 
Her second Australian Open title saw her beat world champions Ratchanok Intanon (2013) and Wang Yihan (2011) before overpowering China&rsquo;s Sun Yu in the final in Sydney. 
 
&quot;It is wonderful to win Australian Open prior to the Olympics. It is very satisfying to beat two world champions and a junior world champion (Malaysian Goh Jin Wei) in one tournament,&quot; she said. 
 
It was a welcome win for Nehwal, who had failed to reach a World Superseries final since last November in China and was returning from an Achilles injury she sustained at the end of last year. 
 
&quot;The injury was a big jolt to me ... I missed South Asian Games, Indian Grand Prix and the (badminton) Asian team championship. 
 
&quot;It was mid-May when I felt I was good enough to play tournament. It was a horror, looking at my condition those three months.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Rio will mark a third Olympics for Nehwal, who is hitting a rich vein of form at exactly the right time

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal eschews the "natural talent" tag thrust upon her by the media in her country. Nehwal, who won an Olympic bronze medal four years ago in London, feels that it's her hard work and grit that's allowed for her to be seen as a serious contender for gold at the Rio games later this year. "Whatever I am today, it's because of my coaches," Nehwal told Reuters in an email interview following her victory at the Australian Open last week. "They taught me smash, dribble and net game in copybook style and I trained five to six hours daily to master them." "I am a worker and my coaches know how to get the best out of me," added the 26-year-old, who became the first Indian shuttler to win an Olympic medal in 2012. While winning a medal in London was celebrated back home in success-starved India, her rise to the top of the world singles rankings in April last year was no less significant. It marked the first time a non-Chinese shuttler sat atop the women's singles rankings since Denmark's Tine Baun in late 2010. Nehwal, who will be 30 by the time the 2020 Olympics come around in Tokyo, believes Rio is her best chance to win gold. "For 2020?, it depends on my progress and health conditions. Rio is an ideal place to showcase my game," she said. "You can't predict results. You need hard work and God's blessing, apart from support from the fraternity," the world number six said. Rio will mark a third Olympics for Nehwal, who is hitting a rich vein of form at exactly the right time. Her second Australian Open title saw her beat world champions Ratchanok Intanon (2013) and Wang Yihan (2011) before overpowering China’s Sun Yu in the final in Sydney. "It is wonderful to win Australian Open prior to the Olympics. It is very satisfying to beat two world champions and a junior world champion (Malaysian Goh Jin Wei) in one tournament," she said. It was a welcome win for Nehwal, who had failed to reach a World Superseries final since last November in China and was returning from an Achilles injury she sustained at the end of last year. "The injury was a big jolt to me ... I missed South Asian Games, Indian Grand Prix and the (badminton) Asian team championship. "It was mid-May when I felt I was good enough to play tournament. It was a horror, looking at my condition those three months." (Reuters)

Hard-working Nehwal senses golden Rio opportunity

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