Daily News Magazine from India & around the world.

Saina Nehwal has reached the pinnacle of her badminton career. The 20- year- old player on Thursday became the world No. 2 in the latest rankings issued by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

With 64791.26 points, the Hyderabadi is now ranked next only to Chinese Wang Yihan (74308.91) points.

Speaking Media, Saina said, “ I want to make one thing clear: I was ranked sixth for a major part of the year. Then I became No. 3 and now No. 2. That is all fine. But my real focus is winning the major tournaments.” She once again repeated that the World Championships was her main target. “ That is without a doubt my biggest challenge.

Last year, I had just recovered from a bout of chicken pox and was not at my best for the World Championships at Hyderabad.I have to make amends for that now,” she said.

Another factor which is to be kept in mind is that with practically no tournament between now and the World Championships, the Indian would go into the world’s premier tournament as the second seed. “ With no major tournaments between now and the World Championships, Saina is most certainly going to the event as the second seed,” said her coach Gopi Chand.

Going into a tournament like the World Championships as the second seed gives Saina a lot of advantage. “ Apart from the physcological advantage, it ensures that she does not have to run into a tough player before the quarter- finals. That is a big plus factor for her,” he said.

Saina’s father Harvir Singh was the first one to break the news to her. “ I feel very happy for her. She has worked very hard and fully deserves the world No. 2 slot,” he said.

He also said that if Saina could keep her good form, then she could attain the world No. 1 ranking. “ If she can continue to play like this, then I am sure the world No. 1 ranking is just a matter of time. She has it in her to become the best player in the world,” said a happy Harvir.