NEW DELHI (TIP): Saina Nehwal continued to break new grounds in a year that saw her reach the pinnacle of world badminton but it turned out to be a subdued season, marred by injuries and poor form, for the rest of the Indian shuttlers.

Saina and K Srikanth continued their good run, winning two titles each, while PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram battled through injuries to claim a title but overall the Indian shuttlers could not reach the heights that they achieved in a watershed 2014.

Continuing her rich vein of form, Saina clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and then broke the jinx of never winning the Indian Open Super Series with a splendid performance which catapulted her to the World No. 1 position. The Olympic bronze medalist also produced stellar performances at three of the most prestigious events in world badminton calendar, reaching the finals of the All England and World Championship and the China Super Series Premier.

However, the girl from Hyderabad suffered an ankle injury at Fuzhou in November which forced her to skip the Hong Kong Open and also posed a serious question mark on her performance at the season-ending BWF Super Series Finals but Saina stunned the world with a superlative win over World No. 1 Carolina Marin in the second match before fitness issues saw her fail to qualify for the semifinals. Sindhu, who had mesmerised the world by bagging five bronze medals including a World Championship medal last year, suffered a stress fracture on her left foot and it affected her game throughout the season as she made too many early exits from tournaments.

(PTI)