Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal said on Wednesday that the crammed calendar was not leaving much time to rest and prepare for tournaments, which are lined up one after the other.

Defending champion Nehwal, who has entered the second round of the India Open Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour 500, minced no words in expressing her displeasure with the schedule.

"It is not about training, it is about giving time to my body. It is tough; it is a 'killing sport'. It looks easy from outside that we are playing strokes. I don't want to just play. I want time to be fresh for tournaments," said Nehwal after reaching the second round at the India Open.

"It is not easy for people to understand what we go through. I am not 20 anymore, I have to keep myself fit to be able to play for long and you see the calendar, it is a killing calendar and we don't know when and how many tournaments we will play and what happens next," she added.

Last year, Nehwal slammed the Badminton body for making mandatory for top 15 singles players to play at least 12 tournaments in a calendar year.

On Wednesday, Nehwal kicked off her India Open campaign on a promising note as she thrashed Danish player Sofie Holmboe Dahl in straight games in the opening match of the women's singles event.

Nehwal will now lock horns with Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in the second round.