<p class="title">An exhausted mind, a bruised body and an unsavoury controversy -- Saina Nehwal had to contend with quite a bit ahead of and during the Commonwealth Games.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Little wonder then that she placed her singles gold in the event right up there with the trail-blazing Olympic bronze of 2012.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I really term it as next to my Olympic medal and my World No 1 ranking. So I would hold it up there. It's a gift to my father and my mother, my country. It's a very emotional moment for me after the disappointing loss in Rio due to injury," second seed Saina said after a straight-game but draining victory over top seed and compatriot P V Sindhu in the final here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Saina played all the matches in the mixed team championship before competing in the individual event.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Asked how her legs were holding up after continuous competition, Saina quipped: "They are dead."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I lost five kgs in the last few months, that helps you move faster," she added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There were also niggles, which got aggravated during the team competition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The shin problem happened in the team event and I am playing with that," she revealed when asked about the bandage she was sporting even though it hardly impacted her execution of shots.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is not much of a problem, just two-three days of recovery is required. My match against Kirsty Gilmour went on for a long while and probably I aggravated the problem a bit," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Asked if playing against Sindhu in a big final was more of a mental battle than anything else, Saina kept it simple.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"You just have to play your game, it's a healthy rivalry, people enjoy it, no doubt we are under tremendous pressure. But I am happy to be pulling these off. It's not easy to play against someone who is ranked No 3 in the world now," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was yet another final loss for Sindhu, who is now being criticised for not being able to pull off high-pressure games.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, Saina defended her teammate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It happens in tough situations, it has happened with me as well. You can't write like that about any player. Today, I fought well. I didn't attack much because my stamina was finishing. I just wanted to finish off rallies. She was doing very well in rallies too," she said.</p>
<p class="title">An exhausted mind, a bruised body and an unsavoury controversy -- Saina Nehwal had to contend with quite a bit ahead of and during the Commonwealth Games.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Little wonder then that she placed her singles gold in the event right up there with the trail-blazing Olympic bronze of 2012.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I really term it as next to my Olympic medal and my World No 1 ranking. So I would hold it up there. It's a gift to my father and my mother, my country. It's a very emotional moment for me after the disappointing loss in Rio due to injury," second seed Saina said after a straight-game but draining victory over top seed and compatriot P V Sindhu in the final here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Saina played all the matches in the mixed team championship before competing in the individual event.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Asked how her legs were holding up after continuous competition, Saina quipped: "They are dead."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I lost five kgs in the last few months, that helps you move faster," she added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There were also niggles, which got aggravated during the team competition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The shin problem happened in the team event and I am playing with that," she revealed when asked about the bandage she was sporting even though it hardly impacted her execution of shots.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is not much of a problem, just two-three days of recovery is required. My match against Kirsty Gilmour went on for a long while and probably I aggravated the problem a bit," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Asked if playing against Sindhu in a big final was more of a mental battle than anything else, Saina kept it simple.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"You just have to play your game, it's a healthy rivalry, people enjoy it, no doubt we are under tremendous pressure. But I am happy to be pulling these off. It's not easy to play against someone who is ranked No 3 in the world now," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was yet another final loss for Sindhu, who is now being criticised for not being able to pull off high-pressure games.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, Saina defended her teammate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It happens in tough situations, it has happened with me as well. You can't write like that about any player. Today, I fought well. I didn't attack much because my stamina was finishing. I just wanted to finish off rallies. She was doing very well in rallies too," she said.</p>