Saina withdraws from Singapore Open

London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the US$350,000 Singapore Super Series to spend more time in training to improve her game ahead of the hectic international circuit.

Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu, meanwhile, will look to put behind her disappointing first-round exit at Malaysia when she leads the Indian challenge in Singapore.

The 27-year-old Saina said she will next play at the Asian Badminton Championship to be held at Wuhan, China later this month.

"Yes, I withdrew from the tournament as I feel I need some more time training to get better. There is improvement in the knee but I think some more training will help at this point," Saina told PTI.

"I will play Asia Badminton Championship next. I will also play the Indonesia Super Series and the Sudirman Cup," said the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion.

Saina, who had won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold in January after recovering from a career-threatening knee injury, was ousted from the Malaysia Open last week after losing narrowly to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the opening round.

Image: Saina Nehwal