Saina Nehwal picks winning trophies over numero uno ranking

New Delhi: Responding to Carolina Marin's statement where she said that she wouldn't let Saina Nehwal become the world number one, the Indian ace shuttler has said that she has already been on that position and her priority right now is to win tournaments.

Nehwal who kicked off the India Open Superseries with a 21-10 21-17 victory against Chinese Taipei's Chia Hsin Lee at the Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, on Wednesday said, "I am already world number one, so it hardly makes any difference."

"For me the only point is to win tournaments, becoming world number one is not I am thinking about. When I was ranked 30 I focused on winning tournaments. So if she doesn't let me be the world number one, let's see if she becomes world number one. So winning tournaments gives me more satisfaction," she added.

It took merely 35 minutes for the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist to maraud Lee in the opening tournament.

The victory assumes significance for Nehwal as this was her third tournament since returning from knee surgery.

Meanwhile, top seed Marin, who beat South Korea's Min Hyo Kim by 21-17, 21-10, said that she was happy with her performance.

"I feel really happy to win my first match. I think it's really important to have a really good performance in my first match because I am here to win the tournament," she said.

PV Sindhu also eased into the second round of the tournament after beating her compatriot Pantawane Arundhati with a 21-17, 21-6.