Sept. 23: Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has set her sights on gold at the 19th Commonwealth Games but is disappointed with the large number of athletes pulling out of the Games. The world No.3 feels the quality of competition will be hampered with top players choosing to stay away.
“As a player we will feel sad if top athletes don’t come for the CWG. The players and spectators expect challenging contests. It’s not nice to hear about pullouts just few days prior to the event. We have worked hard and are looking forward to winning plenty of medals,” said Saina.
Talking about India’s chances, Saina said the hosts were well placed to win medals in each of the six events. “We have all trained very hard in Hyderabad for the Games and I’m confident we have a chance to win a medal in every event we participate in,” said Saina.
Asked about the state of conditions at the Games village, she chose to play it safe and said, “I am not in a position to comment as I have not been to the venue.”
She though was satisfied with the badminton venue. “The Siri Fort Stadium is world class and I look forward to taking the court soon,” she added.
The groups
(To be played cross, A vs B and C vs D) Group A: Malaysia, Australia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Isle of Man. Group B: Singapore, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Northern Ireland. Group C: England, Canada, Mauritius, Uganada, Faulkland Islands. Group D: India, Scotland, Wales, Barbados, Kenya.