Saina ready to wait for No. 1 spot, eyes top 5 place this year

Hyderabad:

Saina Nehwal is not in a hurry for the number one ranking but the Indian wants to see herself among world's top five shuttlers by the end of this year.

After returning from Malaysia, Saina, currently the world number seven, said she would take it step-by-step and would be reasonably happy to break into the top five by the end of the year.

"My immediate target is the World Championship (in Hyderabad) in August and I hope to do well in that. After that, I have events in Chinese Taipei and Macau. By the end of the year, I hope to get into top five," said the soft-spoken shuttler.

The Indonesian Open Super Series triumph has instilled enough self-confidence in Saina to start dreaming big and she reckons attaining the number one ranking is difficult but not impossible altogether.

"Becoming number one will not be easy," she said. "It will be really tough. You have to win consistently. It is not impossible but I guess it will take some time," she said.

Looking back at her Super Series triumph in Indonesia, Saina said it came a little early than she had anticipated and the feeling took time to sink in.

"I never thought it would come so early. It was a huge victory for me and I could not believe I have done it," she said.