India Open: 'Need more match practice to play against top players,' says Saina Nehwal after exit

New Delhi, Jan 19: Saina Nehwal made another early round exit at the second consecutive tournament as the London Olympic bronze medallist surrendered to a 9-21, 12-21 defeat to reigning Olympic Champion Chen Yu Fei. Following her defeat, Saina admitted that she needs more match practice against top players before she gets back to her best.

Saina Nehwal, whose recurring knee injury kept her in and out of action, returned to the international arena at the Malaysian Open with a first-round defeat before coming to New Delhi for the India Open.

"It has been long since I played top players and Chen Yu Fei has been consistently playing semis and finals of all the tournaments she plays in," Saina told reporters after her India Open exit. "I feel I need more match practice to play against such top players. I am happy that I am able to play long rallies but somewhere I am not able to convert them into points."

Saina Nehwal to compete in Indonesian Masters

Saina Nehwal, who will compete at the Indonesian Masters next (January 24 onwards), said the game against Yu Fei was a learning curve for her as she realised women's badminton is all about retrieval and rallies now.

"I haven't played tough matches in a while that's why I am yet to find the rhythm. Playing against her, made me realise I need to make my rallies stronger. My takeaway from the tournament is that the game now is more about retrieval and rallies, especially the Chinese players, so I will be focussing on improving that. The game is also about running as well so need to improve there as well," she said.