I am thrilled: Saina Nehwal

A day after she celebrated her 20th birthday Saina Nehwal zoomed into the top-5 in the world badminton rankings on Thursday.

The first Indian woman to do so, Saina is now targeting to break into the top-3 within one year. The world No. 5 said that she didn't expect to reach this far so soon. However, the superb performance at the All England championships last week ensured the sudden elevation.

"I thought I would reach the sixth rank this week. It was a pleasant surprise. For the last one year or so it was my goal to reach the top-5 and I am thrilled. I think the semifinal finish at the All England made this possible," said Saina.

The Hyderabadi said that she would be targeting top-3 ranking now. "I think a top-3 finish is a real possibility now. I hope to do that within a year. But my main target would be to win as many important titles as possible. I came close to winning one in Birmingham last week," said Saina, who lost to eventual champion Tine Rasmussen in the semifinals of the All England championships on Saturday.

The Indian lost in straight games but that was not before offering a stiff resistance. "It was very close. At 19-19 in the first game I should have served a bit better. Though it was painful to lose at that stage I am very happy with my performance. My aim is to win the Olympic gold in London. I am confident to doing well at the Olympics," she said.

Next up for Saina is the Asian Championships to be held at New Delhi from April 12 to 18.

Saina's mentor and chief coach of the Indian team Pullela Gopi Chand is not surprised by the achievement of his ward. "I was expecting this. She did very well in the last year. We never concentrated on the ranking and played only big tournaments. Our focus now is on doing well at the forthcoming tournaments," Gopi said.