Saina Nehwal breezed through her opening encounter at the BWF World Championship in Glasgow, but declined to read too much into the performance. She said she was just happy to close the match fast and insisted that she will have to play a lot more intelligently in the next round.
The world No 16 needed just 33 minutes to see off Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland 21-11, 21-12 in the second round and will now face second seed Sung Ji Hyun, who defeated India’s Tanvi Lad 21-9, 21-19 on the adjoining court.
Despite the easy win, Nehwal felt she wasn’t moving that well on the court on Wednesday as she was still getting a hang of the conditions. She added that the slow nature of the courts would mean that overall fitness and right stroke selection would be the key against Sung.
“First round, I don’t want to comment on it,” said Nehwal. “First round, I haven’t always played well. My experience is that most of the time when I play first round it’s very tough or I make it a very difficult match for me. So I try to be more focused in the first round and once you get going it is little bit more easier. But I would not say that next rounds are going to be easy with conditions.”
The Emirates Arena, where Nehwal is playing her first tournament, has a big central hall with a slight sideway drift that tends to slow down the pace of the shuttle as it hangs in the air slightly longer.
“In big stadiums, fitness plays a big role,” said the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist. “But it is also important how you maintain your cool. Because in big stadiums the shuttle goes mid court and the opponent has the chance to finish it off. So you need to play very smart shots and control the rally. That is what is important.”
She added, “Here it is important that I don’t hit blindly. Here you have to keep moving and play a shot in a way that the next shot is comfortable for you and in your control. Not like you are struggling and moving and the opponent is in control.”
Speaking about her next-round opponent, Nehwal said both of them know each other’s game well and she would definitely want to do everything in her capacity to win the championship. “Everyone wants to win. Same thing with me. Even I want to beat them, I want to win the championship.”
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