Pressure doesn't affect me: Saina Nehwal

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 shuttlerafter a long time and she was justly rewarded with the Rajiv KhelRatna.As Saina gears up to perform on the biggest stage of theworld, the expectations of Indian fans are sky high. If she manages to hang onto her red hot form, the world number two has it in her to grab the tophonours.Ever confident about her chances, Saina made light about thepressure 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 onTuesday. I never let pressure affect me. As long as you focus on the match youplay there would be no pressure. I agree it is very tough but I am not worriedbecause I am well prepared," Saina said.The Hyderabadi girl willface Hsiao Huan Chen of Chinese Taipei in her first match on Tuesday. ThoughSaina enjoys a 2-0 record over Hsiao, she believes the latter is capable ofcausing an upset."I found her to be a very tough player. I struggleda lot to beat her and I know she'll be determined to avenge the loss. At thisstage there's very little to separate between the players and we need to givethe best always," Saina said.Saina faces a major hurdle in thequarters against world No. 6 Shixian Wang of China. Though Saina never faced herin 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 canbeat her I stand a good chance in the tournament," Sainasaid.India's top men's singles player Chetan Anand opens againstYong Zhao Ashton Chen of Singapore. Ranked 15th in the world Anand should easilyget past 107th ranked Chen. Anand can easily make it to the thirdround.Apart from the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta andValiyaveetil Diju, the other Indian doubles teams don't hold much promise. Jwalaand Diju, who reached the quarters at the Worlds last year are capable ofgoing all the way this time.