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Saina Nehwal
In the build-up to the 2017 World Championships, while all eyes have been firmly fixed on the Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu, the 2015 World Championships runner-up Saina Nehwal has mostly been in the shadows.
It hasn’t been the best of years for Saina. Since her knee surgery last September, the former World No. 1 has triumphed only at the Malaysia Masters in January. Inconsistency and a lack of fitness have seen her spiralling into quite a few shocking early exits from the elite tournaments. She has not progressed past the quarter-finals in any Superseries event this year and is currently tottering at the World No. 16 ranking.
But being away from the spotlight sometimes does wonders. With the low ranking, she has found herself a 12th seeding which has very much made her a dark horse for this tournament.
There has never been any doubt about her passion or hunger for the sport. She has been one of the most mentally strong shuttlers on the Tour.
If she can get the better of the second seed Sung Ji Hyun in the third round, whom she did beat at the Australian Open in June, she can boost her confidence level.
