Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has not been at her best, mainly due to a long spate of injuries. Currently ranked 55, Nehwal admits that qualifying for the Paris Olympics will be extremely tough but the star shuttler has no plans to quit. In fact she is eager to put all that’s left to once again rise to the top.
Saina has been laid low by a spate of injuries, which also include a recurring knee issue, forcing the 33-year-old to skip the BWF World Tour events.
“I get inflammation in my knee whenever I train for an hour or two. I am not able to bend my knee so a second session of training is not possible. The doctors have given me a couple of injection. Of course the Olympics is near and it is tough (to qualify),” Saina was quoted as saying in a report by PTI.
“But I am trying my level best to comeback. The physios are helping me but if the inflammation doesn’t reduce, it will take little more time to recover. I also don’t want to play half-heartedly and results will also not come.
“If you are trying to compete against An Seyoung, or Tai Tzu Ying or Akane (Yamaguchi), it won’t happen with just one hour of training. The level has improved so much. So when you are playing such high level players, you need a high level game,” Saina, who was named the ‘Race Ambassador’ for Harvest Gold Global Race on September 24 in Gurugram, said.
Saina last featured at the Singapore Open in June this year, which was her sixth tournament of the season. She had managed just one quarterfinal finish in the 14 tournaments she particpated last year. A semifinal finish at Orleans Masters was her best finish the year before that, during which she participated in 8 tournaments.
If we go even further, Saina had won a title back in 2019 at the Malaysia Masters.
In addition to the recurring knee issue, Saina also had problems with groin and ankle, besides being diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis with mild pancreatitis in the past.
Asked about retirement, Saina said: “Woh toh sab ko karna parta hai (everyone has to retire someday)…there is no deadline. Everyone is going to stop when you feel the body is not supporting you.”
“But at the moment I am trying. As a sports person, it is my duty to try because I love the game and I have been playing for so many years.
“But if it doesn’t happen, then it means, how much I have tried. I have done everything, I mean I shouldn’t have any regret. My target is not to play Asian Games or Olympics because I have achieved a lot in those tournament and of course it could have been better if I would have been able to play, but let’s see how it goes.”
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