Carolina Marin keen to become World No.1

Carolina Marin

New Delhi, March 24 (IANS)

Reigning World Badminton Champion Carolina Marin has set her sights on the World No.1 spot as she enters the $275,000 India Open Superseries as the second seed. The Spaniard is ranked No.4 and will be vying for the top spot this week.

"It is my goal to win here and I have to take things match-by-match. Saina Nehwal is a good player and I have to change my tactics accordingly," said Carolina after a practice session at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on the eve of the tournament.

The main draw of the event starts on Wednesday where Saina has been seeded No.1.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist R.M.V. Gurusaidutt secured a place in the main draw. Upcoming shuttlers got a chance to excel and out of the 20 available qualifying spots, 14 were grabbed by Indians like Sameer Verma, Shlok Ramchandra and Sanyam Shukla.

Gurusaidutt defeated Thailand's Thammasin Sitthikom 16-21, 21-14, 21-10 in a tough second round qualifying match, right after he scored a comfortable 21-14, 21-9 victory over Malaysia's Sattawat Pongnairat in the first round.

Verma also advanced into the main draw, trampling former World Junior Champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli's hopes in the process. Verma defeated the Malaysian 21-14, 23-21.

On Wednesday, Saina and China's Lin Dan will play their first round matches along with all other top players.