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[nahia]

HYDERABAD: It is redemption time for Saina Nehwal as the World Badminton Championships kick off in Paris on Monday. A few weeks back, she was the toast of the nation after achieving a rare hat-trick of titles.

The country celebrated the dominance of an Indian shuttler after a long time and she was justly rewarded with the Rajiv Khel Ratna.

As Saina gears up to perform on the biggest stage of the world, the expectations of Indian fans are sky high. If she manages to hang on to her red hot form, the world number two has it in her to grab the top honours.

Ever confident about her chances, Saina made light about the pressure of expectations. "It's natural that people expect me to win the title. But I am not thinking about it now. My focus is the on the first match I play on Tuesday. I never let pressure affect me. As long as you focus on the match you play there would be no pressure. I agree it is very tough but I am not worried because I am well prepared," Saina said.

The Hyderabadi girl will face Hsiao Huan Chen of Chinese Taipei in her first match on Tuesday. Though Saina enjoys a 2-0 record over Hsiao, she believes the latter is capable of causing an upset.

"I found her to be a very tough player. I struggled a lot to beat her and I know she'll be determined to avenge the loss. At this stage there's very little to separate between the players and we need to give the best always," Saina said.

Saina faces a major hurdle in the quarters against world No. 6 Shixian Wang of China. Though Saina never faced her in big events, Shixian is a player who had defeated even world No. 1 Wang Yihan. "I know she's a great player and that match will be as good as a final. If I can beat her I stand a good chance in the tournament," Saina said.

India's top men's singles player Chetan Anand opens against Yong Zhao Ashton Chen of Singapore. Ranked 15th in the world Anand should easily get past 107th ranked Chen. Anand can easily make it to the third round.

Apart from the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Valiyaveetil Diju, the other Indian doubles teams don't hold much promise. Jwala and Diju,
who reached the quarters at the Worlds last year are capable of going all the way this time.