- Over the last week, at the Super Series finals in Dubai, Saina Nehwal quietly gasped in agony every time she lunged for a shot.
- Saina’s coach Vimal Kumar admits that with the benefit of hindsight, it was a mistake to allow Saina to return to the circuit soon after the World championships.
- Will Saina play the Indian Badminton League with an injury?
Pain is a professional hazard in sport. You learn to ignore it. Or embrace it. Over the last week, at the Super Series finals in Dubai, Saina Nehwal quietly gasped in agony every time she lunged for a shot. Now think for a minute about the process in badminton. Play shot. Sprint to be in position for the next. Lunge. Play shot. Repeat.
“I thought I could make it but my legs just wouldn’t let me,” Saina said after losing her last qualifying match to Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying to miss out on a semifinal spot.
After the first game I could feel I was getting tired. It was a very, very big match and it was tough. But I am happy with how I tried. And I will look back on what’s been a very good year.Saina Nehwal
It has in fact been an exceptional year. In 2015, Saina reclaimed the top spot in the rankings. She won a couple of tournaments and reached the final of three of the biggest events on the circuit- All England, World Championships and the China Open Super series Premier. She ended the year with 37 wins in 49 matches and her reputation restored as one of badminton’s most feared players.
It was in the course of her run to clinching a silver at the World Championships in August, her first in six attempts, that Saina felt pain on the side of the shin bone. After training sessions in particular, the pain would slide down to her heel. Her movements around court slowed down but Saina willed herself on. Saina’s coach Vimal Kumar admits that with the benefit of hindsight, it was a mistake to allow Saina to return to the circuit soon after the championships.
“At this event, I wasn’t expecting anything at all,” Vimal said after the campaign in Dubai ended.
She had been advised not to lunge. She had barely had a full training session before the event began. She lacked stamina and had only been practicing standing strokes and doing some gym time.Vimal Kumar
So why then was she in Dubai at all if her body was crying out for recuperation? Clearly, external factors played a role. The organisers and sponsors of the event, featuring the eight top players of the year, wouldn’t have been too pleased if one of the game’s biggest drawing cards gave it a miss. The official broadcaster’s “Saina squad” campaign where 20 fans travelled to Dubai as a cheering brigade may have been an influencing factor as well for Saina to make the journey.
The world number two started miserably in Dubai, losing tamely to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in her opener. However, it was in her second match against World Champion and world number one Carolina Marin that Saina showed her ferocity as a competitor. She won a three game epic in 75 minutes against an opponent who had beaten her in two big finals in 2015.
I never thought I would win, I had no plan. And I never expected to play so well against Carolina. I didn’t do any kind of running before coming here, and thought I would be going home and playing with my dog this weekend.Saina Nehwal
Now that she returns home for some much needed down time another tricky decision confronts Saina. The Indian Badminton League (IBL), where Saina attracted the top bid of USD 100,000 (nearly Rs 67 lakh) from the Awadh Warriors begins on January 2.
The key question is if Saina should participate in the IBL if her injury isn’t fully healed? Her absence will undoubtedly take some sheen away from Indian badminton’s marquee event and have implications on its commercial success. However, in an Olympic year, where she is India’s leading contender for a medal, can the risk of aggravating this already worrying injury be taken?
This is a tough call for her to take. Everybody expects her to play. I think the picture will be clearer in a week or so. As of now she is committed to play but she needs to get the right medical advice.Vimal Kumar
Quite clearly, for at least the latter half of 2015, Saina Nehwal has been gallant. But now her aching body needs attention. It carries the burden of massive expectations.