I always knew we were capable of winning medals at the Worlds: Saina

An upset stomach ruined her campaign at the World Championship last week, but Saina Nehwal is not too upset at missing the bronze.

"I am not disappointed. I was just unwell so I can't really feel disappointed. I have really crossed the stage to feel disappointed."

"I am doing really well and I am happy with the way I am playing. It is just a time of luck and when you have luck, you can pull off matches. Look how Ratchanok (Inthanon) pulled off the match against Li Xuerui," said Saina.

The 23-year-old from Hyderabad missed a chance to grab the bronze at the World Championship in Guangzhou, China, after suffering a 21-23, 9-21 loss to Korean Yeon Ju Bae in the quarter-finals of the prestigious event.

While she missed out, her younger colleague, P V Sindhu went on a giant-killing spree and clinched the bronze in her maiden World Championship appearance.

The 18-year-old was duly rewarded for her achievement with an Arjuna award on Tuesday.

On Sindhu receiving the honour Saina said: "It's natural when you win something at international level, you will get the award. So it was nothing new. It is good that she won the bronze medal there after beating two Chinese players. I wish her all the best."

Sindhu and Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon are the two players who have beaten the Chinese and won the bronze and gold respectively at the World Championship, a rare feat considering the domination of China.

Saina said: "It is not easy to beat the Chinese. Sometimes it happens that by luck you beat Chinese players in a tournament. They won't give up. They will get back. They have a very strong team". 

"It is good news that we did really well in this tournament and Ratchanok also pulled off the gold. But otherwise, for me, it is not really easy to beat the Chinese," Saina said.

Asked about Sindhu, who also would be reaching the top 10 soon after her performance at World Championship, Saina said: "I was always confident. I have been saying from the very beginning that we all have the capability of doing it.

"The thought and belief is important and I think now they are showing the belief. Sindhu and Kashyap have already done that and now the next player is Gurusaidutt, who is doing well, then there is Ajay Jayaram, K Srikanth. All of them are doing well. Most of them are in top 30 now.

"I hope the way Chinese have 6-7 players at top 10, we too will have players in the top bracket soon," she added.

Asked if it is less lonely in the top 10, now that Sindhu is all set to enter the elite bracket, Saina said: "I think for the last six years I have been playing alone. So even that stage has crossed. So I am not feeling anything. I am happy everyone is doing well and Indian badminton is moving forward."

The two stalwarts of women's singles, Saina and Sindhu is now likely to clash at the inaugural Indian badminton league beginning Thursday and the senior pro said while the excitement is good, it is nothing new for her.

"I have been playing her at the academy almost everyday. Of course she was not been able to play against me outside, so people are saying it is Saina vs Sindhu. I think it is okay. This is nothing new for me. Everyone is looking forward to the match and it is a good thing," the London Olympic bronze medallist said.

Asked about IBL, Saina said: "IBL is good thing. It is good for money and fame. It will put players in the limelight but the players should continue performing well," she said.