Saina slips further to 9th in BWF rankings

New Delhi: India`s Olympic bronze medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal dropped a place to be at ninth position, while P V Sindhu retained her 11th spot in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings issued Thursday.

Saina`s indifferent form continued with her defeat in the second round of Malaysia Open Super Series Premier last week, which impacted her rankings. Saina, who had endured a tough season last year where she could not win a single title, was overtaken by Juliane Schenk of Germany. The 23-year-old girl from Hyderabad is currently playing in the India Grand Prix Gold and she will be hoping for a strong finish in the tournament to climb the ladder once again. World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu, who also lost in the second round of Malaysian Open, however, managed to maintain No.11 ranking. On the other hand, top male shuttler Parupalli Kashyap jumped two places to be at No. 18, while Mumbai`s Ajay Jayaram moved up a place to be at 21th position. No Indians figure in the top 25 of the men`s, women`s or mixed doubles rankings.