NEW DELHI (AFP) - Badminton star Saina Nehwal has shrugged off mounting pressure over whether she will become the first Indian woman ever to bag the world No. 1 ranking, at the Indian Open in New Delhi.

Nehwal, currently No. 2 after reaching the All-England Championship final this month, is expected to snatch the top spot if she wins the tournament in front of a home crowd.

But the 25-year-old insists numbers do not count for much.

"Whether my ranking is 1, 2 or 10, it doesn't matter. For me, what matters is that I should stay fit and whom so ever I play against, I give my 100 per cent," she said after cruising past a qualifier in the opening round on Wednesday.

Nehwal said she was still feeling some pain from a slight shoulder injury suffered during the All-England Championship where she lost to Spain's Carolina Marin in the final.

The first Indian woman to win a Super Series title as well as the first to win an Olympic medal in badminton, Nehwal might again meet Marin, seeded second in the Super Series event.