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