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A dream All-England title may have slipped through her fingers, but Saina Nehwal insisted on taking the positives out of the prestigious badminton tournament, saying the consistency and overall improvement in her will help her to do well in the season ahead.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina's quest to become the first Indian woman to win the All England championship ended in agony after she lost to Spain's Carolina Marin 21-16, 14-21, 7-21 in Sunday’s final in Birmingham.
"The first game was quite good. I started off very well. But I think she was also in good form and she gave me a tough time after that. Finally, it is a game, so, obviously, it would be challenging," Saina told reporters after returning to Hyderabad.
"I am happy that I got some good results last year. Winning the China Open and then reaching the semi-finals of the Super Series Finals. So there is a lot of consistency.
"I'm world No 3 and, hopefully, will be world No 2 next week. There is a lot of improvement. So I am taking a lot of positives out of this tournament. Hopefully I will do well in future," said the girl from Hyderabad, who had earned a career-best ranking of No 2 in December 2010.
Image: Saina Nehwal
Photograph: Sanjay Sawant/Rediff.com