Sindhu chasing 2013 target

Rising Indian shuttler P V Sindhu is confident of breaking into the top-10 of world rankings by the end of this year. "I was 11 and then slipped to 12th because I didn't play a few tournaments like Singapore and Indonesia due to an injury to my left knee.I now fit and back to training and preparing well for the championship. There is still one month to go so preparing very well for that," she said.

"My aim is by the end of this year, I would like to come into the top-10. My dream is that," Sindhu said. The 18-year-old is aiming to do well in her first world championships that will be held in Guangzhou, China. "Right now, I don't have any tournaments. The next is the world championship in August. For me, it is my first time, so I wish to give my best. "All the top players are going to come and my goal is to play the quarters or semis, but let's see how the draw favours us," she added.

The lanky youngster, who tasted her maiden success at the international level when she won the singles crown in the Malaysian Gold Grand Prix earlier this year, said the Chinese were not as invincible as they appear to be. "The Malaysian Gold Grand Prix was my first big victory. Defeating the Chinese players is very tough for a player but I think they are not really unbeatable. Of course they are tough but even the Indian players are coming up," she said.

"The Chinese players are at the top but now Saina (Nehwal) and I have started winning more often against them. Of course, earlier, the Chinese dominance was really high with the world number one, two, three all from China but now it is changing," she pointed out.

IBL auction on July 19 The Indian Badminton League (IBL) is all set to hold its first players auctions here on July 19 with more than 150 shuttlers expected to go under the hammer for 66 slots in six teams. Each franchisee can feature 11 players, including a maximum of four foreign shuttlers and one under-19 player from their catchment area.

There will be a total of six icon players starting with a base price of USD 50,000 in the auction, for whom franchisee will bid from draw of lots. Indian stars Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Parupalli Kashyap and P V Sindhu will have icon status in the auction, while a leading foreign star will be the sixth icon player.

Each franchisee will be allotted a maximum of Rs 1.5 crore to bid for players with the icon player receiving 10 per cent more than the highest-bid player in the team. The top national players and their international counterparts from 17 badminton nations have confirmed their participation. The final date for entering the players' auction is July 5.

The top four franchisee in the IBL will clash in the semifinals and the winners will meet in the final on August 31 to be held in Mumbai.