Saina Nehwal had defeated PV Sindhu in the women's singles final of the 2018 Commonwealth Games to clinch the gold medal and they have frequently been compared with each other. Saina Nehwal has recently said that these comparisons have only helped her work harder and she is happy that Sindhu is doing well. "We both play at international level and more than each other, we have other challengers to deal with. I am glad that she is playing well, as it pushes me too win more.
"Challenges and rivalry grow when two people are playing well equally in one sport. So I don't get bothered by the comparisons," Saina told TOI.
Both Saina and Sindhu train under former Indian player and current Chief National Coach for the Indian badminton team Pullela Gopichand.
Saina and Sidhu had recently earned the highest bid of Rupees 80 lakhs for the Pro Badminton League 2018 (PBL).
However, Sindhu (3rd) leads Saina (10th) in the current women's singles world rankings.
Sindhu had finished runner-up in the Asian Games 2018. She had lost to Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-Ying in the final.
Saina, on the other hand had clinched a bronze medal each in the Asian Championships and Asian Games earlier this year.