She also reached the Olympic quarter-finals -- where she squandered a 11-5 lead in the decider against Indonesia's Maria Kristin Yulianti -- and was chosen as the most promising player of the year by the Badminton World Federation.
In the Indonesian Super Series, Nehwal clinched back-to-back wins over tough Chinese rivals.
She defeated Lu Lan in the semi-finals before overcoming current world number two Lin Wang in the final, rallying from 2-7 to clinch the decider 21-9.
"It gives huge confidence to have beaten two Chinese players in one tournament," she said.
"Sometimes you beat one of them and just relax. I feel if I build so much more stamina, I can beat four in a row."
Her current ranking means she would be seeded in the world championships, though she would rather focus on consistency than numbers.
"It is good for seeding in the tournament, but now I don't see the ranking. It sometimes goes up, sometimes down.
"It is important for me to win against these players consistently and in more tournaments."
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