I would give my best at the All England Championship: Saina

All eyes will be on Indian ace Saina Nehwal when she returns to the court after an injury lay-off at the All England Championship, hoping to better last year's runner-up finish at the prestigious event which begins with the qualifiers in Birmingham. 

In pursuit of achieving her full fitness ahead of a hectic Olympic year, Saina skipped a series of tournaments, including the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold, but the World No. 2 Indian will now be back in the reckoning as she spearheads the challenge. 

"Unfortunately I could not play any tournament this year because of a nagging ankle injury and a recurrent viral infection. But now I am perfectly all right and my fitness level is also good.

"I had a good training session and I would give my best in this event," said Saina, who would take on Commonwealth Games champion Michelle Li of Canada in the main draw on Wednesday.

Saina, who last played in the BWF Super Series Finals at Dubai and a couple of matches in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) for Awadhe Warriors, missed the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold at Lucknow in January, South Asian Games in Shillong and Badminton Asia team championship last month.

"After All England, I want to play the Swiss Open, India Super Series in New Delhi later this month and Malaysia Super Series Premier in April," she said. 

The 25-year-old, who won the Syed Modi International and India Super Series and finished runners-up at the All England, World Championship and China Super Series Premier and also reached the World No. 1 last year, will make a comeback in the Birmingham event.