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Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has always been unlucky when it comes to the World Badminton Championships(WBC). Prior to the 2009 and 2013 editions of the tournament, the 25-year-old suffered from a bout of chicken pox and upset stomach respectively and that had a severe impact on the shuttler.
This time however, Nehwal seems confident of recovering from her shoulder pain which she developed on her way to a runners-up finish at the All England Championship in March, and hopes to compete in the WBC which commences on the 10th of August in Jakarta, Indonesia.
"There is some pain in the shoulder. I hope to be fit before the tournament," Saina told the Times of India.
The World No.2 has not won a medal yet at the Championships, and would be looking to change that this time in Jakarta and after her victories at Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and at the India Super Series.
Saina has received a bye in the first round, and in the second, takes on the winner of the match between Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi and Estonia’s Kati Tolmoff, and if she wins, she is likely to face Japan's Takahashi, with a potential quarterfinal match looming up against tough Chinese opponent Wang Yihan.
Hope to do well this time: Saina
When she was asked about the draw, Saina said that her opponents were tough and that she hoped to do well, despite having
"The draw is really tough with Sayaka Takahashi and Wang Yihan both in my half. They are very strong players, so let us see how it will be for me in this tournament. I hope I do well this time."
The 2nd seed has a 2-9 record against Yihan Wang, but would be encouraged by the fact that she had won against the Chinese at the All England Championship in March. With regards to her training, Saina seems assured as reported by TOI
"My training is going on fine. At the highest level there is no particular area which we have to work on as every part of the game needs correction. So it's like working on everything."
With India leading its biggest ever home contingent at the World meet, the 25-year-old also took time to wish everyone luck:
"This time we have a big team and I hope everyone comes out with good results. Being a player I can only wish them luck,” she concluded.
The World Championships will be Saina’s first competitive tournament since her quarterfinal exit to Wang Shixian at the Indonesian Open in early June.
