Saina to receive Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

New Delhi :

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been rewarded for her terrific show in the international badminton circuit as she has been chosen for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by the government for the year 2009-10.

This is the highest sporting award to be given away by the Indian government. Saina's brilliant form has seen her win three consecutive international titles this season and has also jumped to a career high 2nd rank.

The 20-year-old Saina made a meteoric rise following her back-to-back title triumphs at the India Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series, reaching the world number three last month.

And after the Indian defended her Indonesian Open Super Series crown to complete her hat-trick of titles, it was just a matter of time that she jumped to the second place.

By virtue of the consecutive title wins, Saina now has 64791.2637 points and is just behind Chinese Yihan Wang, while Xin Wang of China is in the third place.

In March, Saina had attained the fifth position after becoming the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the prestigious All England Super Series Championships.

However, she dropped to the sixth position in the subsequent weeks.

Saina's next engagement will be in the World badminton Championship in Paris, before playing the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.