Nehwal returns to India after winning Indonesian Open

Hyderabad, June 19 (ANI): Ace badminton star Saina Nehwal returned to Hyderabad on Tuesday, days after winning her third Indonesian Open Super Series title.

Nehwal, 22, is currently ranked fifth in the world and is behind four Chinese players.

Nehwal defeated Li Xuerui of China despite being a set down, outsmarting her opponent 13-21, 22-20, 21-19 in the final of the Indonesian Open on Sunday at Jakarta.

The match lasted an hour and four minutes and incidentally, this was her third victory this year in international tourneys.

Speaking to reporters, Nehwal said that victory has given her confidence to eye a medal at the London Olympics next month.

""I am happy that I won two tournaments in a row and yes the win was quite after sometime so really happy that results are very good. I defeated quite a few top players in these two tournaments so really happy. Want to thank my coach Gopi sir, my parents and of course all my well wishers who were praying for me and I hope from here on I train even more harder and get ready for the Olympics," said Nehwal.

The odds were against Saina since she had lost four times and won just once against her Chinese opponent, Li Xuerui.

She lost three finals to her Chinese opponents last year, raising concerns about her vulnerability against them.

The victory at Indonesian Open came a week after she won the Thai Open on June 10.

She had a standout year in 2010 when she won three Super Series titles and the Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi, also reaching a career-best world ranking of two. (ANI)