<p>Saina has already pulled out of next month’s Swiss Open Super Series to concentrate on training.<br /><br />“This year I will play very few tournaments because I want to be fit for the Commonwealth Games and Asian badminton championship,” said Saina, who along with the team left on Friday for the Uber Cup in Thailand.<br /><br />“Two tournaments in a month would be nice but it will always be a last minute decision. I had sent my entries for the Swiss Open but I have decided to skip that. I will play according to how I feel before the tournaments.<br /><br />“This year I am not even worried about the ranking because CWG and ABC are more important. I will look to just win against the bigger opponents and I haven’t thought much about the number one position,” the Hyderabadi added.<br /><br />Saina will spearhead Indian challenge in the Uber Cup starting from Monday but the world number seven said the onus to come up with a good performance in on all the players.<br /><br />“It’s very tough but we will try our best. We have put a lot of hard work. But it doesn’t depend only on me, it is a team event so others also have to perform.” <br /><br />Asked which team will be the toughest, Saina said none can be taken lightly. “All are tough. I just think Philippines will be ok. All of them are equal level of players. They have 100 Saina Nehwals. Even If I win, the second and third singles will be very difficult because compared to them we don’t have equally good players. I don’t say we can’t do that but it would be very difficult.<br /><br />“We have to focus only on the match at hand. Japan have long rally players. Hong Kong’s Zhou Mi and in Chinese Taipei are very good runners, so you have to be prepared for that. At times I have this feeling that we are not at that level. So it’s all in the mind,” she said.<br /><br />Bhat’s plans <br /><br />Ace Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat has decided to cut down on tournament appearances this year and dedicate more time to training.<br /><br />“Last year I had a lot of fitness issues and my form also was not consistent. On top of it I played too many tournaments. So from 20 odd tournaments this year, I will only play around 12-15 events and dedicate more time to training,” Bhat told PTI.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Saina has already pulled out of next month’s Swiss Open Super Series to concentrate on training.<br /><br />“This year I will play very few tournaments because I want to be fit for the Commonwealth Games and Asian badminton championship,” said Saina, who along with the team left on Friday for the Uber Cup in Thailand.<br /><br />“Two tournaments in a month would be nice but it will always be a last minute decision. I had sent my entries for the Swiss Open but I have decided to skip that. I will play according to how I feel before the tournaments.<br /><br />“This year I am not even worried about the ranking because CWG and ABC are more important. I will look to just win against the bigger opponents and I haven’t thought much about the number one position,” the Hyderabadi added.<br /><br />Saina will spearhead Indian challenge in the Uber Cup starting from Monday but the world number seven said the onus to come up with a good performance in on all the players.<br /><br />“It’s very tough but we will try our best. We have put a lot of hard work. But it doesn’t depend only on me, it is a team event so others also have to perform.” <br /><br />Asked which team will be the toughest, Saina said none can be taken lightly. “All are tough. I just think Philippines will be ok. All of them are equal level of players. They have 100 Saina Nehwals. Even If I win, the second and third singles will be very difficult because compared to them we don’t have equally good players. I don’t say we can’t do that but it would be very difficult.<br /><br />“We have to focus only on the match at hand. Japan have long rally players. Hong Kong’s Zhou Mi and in Chinese Taipei are very good runners, so you have to be prepared for that. At times I have this feeling that we are not at that level. So it’s all in the mind,” she said.<br /><br />Bhat’s plans <br /><br />Ace Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat has decided to cut down on tournament appearances this year and dedicate more time to training.<br /><br />“Last year I had a lot of fitness issues and my form also was not consistent. On top of it I played too many tournaments. So from 20 odd tournaments this year, I will only play around 12-15 events and dedicate more time to training,” Bhat told PTI.<br /><br /></p>
