After guiding the women's team to a thumping victory in the Uber Cup, Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal on Sunday said her confidence is still not at the peak but she is slowly finding her rhythm back.
Saina on Sunday gave her team a positive start after notching up a 21-4, 21-12 win over Joycelyn Ko in 25 minutes in the first singles at the Siri Fort Complex.
"I think still there are lot of tough matches ahead which I have to play. There is Hong Kong on Monday. I have lost few matches recently so the confidence is still lacking. But I have seen some difference in my game when I played today. I could see my strokes have improved after the training," Saina told reporters after the match.
Asked if she was 100 percent fit, Saina said: "Nobody can say a player is 100 percent. Everyone is here and there and I think it is about how you find your rhythm and how good you play in that tournament and it is just starting. So lets us just wait for other matches and see how it goes."
Saina said she was finding it a bit difficult to control the shuttle in the second game as there is drift in the stadium.
"There is lot of drift here, sometimes it is difficult to control. Otherwise, today result was expected. I had no problem with getting rhythm. I was on the favourable side in the first game and in the second game again I was on the other side and it is not easy to play in that side," she said.
The London Olympics bronze medallist feels her team has the firepower to go beyond the quarterfinal stage.
"We have chances of reaching the quarters and the team is doing well so I also hope we can cross the quarter stage. So lets see," she said.
PV Sindhu also hardly broke any sweat before brushing aside Rachael Honderich 21-16, 21-3 in a 26-minute lop-sided match. Asked about the match, she said: "It was first match and I was making errors. I was hitting out and then I came back in the second game.
"Canada is an easy team. Saina played in the first singles, she won it easily, I won the second singles and I think it will be same for doubles too. I hope we can win tomorrow with the crowd supporting us."
Talking about future matches ahead, Sindhu said: "I will be playing a second singles again tomorrow. I am just thinking about one match at a time. Thailand is also a very good team. They have tough singles players such as Ratchanok and Porntip and they are also good in doubles."
While the women's team had a comfortable outing, it turned out to be a disappointing day for the men's team, who lost 1-4 to formidable Malaysia earlier in the day.
Promising shuttler RMV Gurusaidutt was the only bright spot on an otherwise dismal day for the men's team and he said it was a boost to the team.
"It is a real boost because team spirit is really high and we all have been playing well. I have lost many matches 21-19. I just wanted to think that it really doesn't matter if it is 21-19, I just have to get it in the end," Guru said.
"In the first game, at 18-17 I missed a court smash. In the third game, my coach made sure that I was really calm at the end. I am getting better at the nets now. I was not getting any attack in the third game in 6-7 points. Gopi sir told me to just be patient and be aggressive when can and it was really helpful. I played him three times, the last time was in IBL.
"It is a group stage so anything can happen. If we win against Korea and pull off an easy win against Germany then we will definetely go into the quarterfinals. So, I really wanted to go for a win from the first point start."
Talking about the match against Korea, Guru said: "The start is going to be very important because we are playing korea tomorrow. We will have a team meeting tonight. So lets us see."
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