Want to see what all injuries my body can cope with, says Saina Nehwal

The
former
world
number
one
was
forced
to
miss
a
lot
of
tournaments
in
2021,
including
the
World
Championships,
due
to
multiple
injuries.

Still
not
completely
fit,
Saina
reached
the
second
round
of
the
India
Open,
where
she
was
not
even
expecting
to
play.

She
advanced
after
her
opponent
Czech
Republic’s
Tereza
Svabikova
suffered
a
back
injury
and
retired
mid-way,
on
Wednesday
(January
12).
Saina
was
leading
22-20,
1-0
at
that
time.

“I
was
able
to
take
the
tough
training
but
one
bad
slip
and
my
groin
had
lot
of
issues.
I
got
a
tear
(during
Thomas
and
Uber
Cup
Final)
but
I
didn’t
know
that
the
knee
was
also
going
through
some
issues
which
got
bad
in
French
open,”
Saina
said
during
a
virtual
press
conference.

“Till
that
match,
I
didn’t
know
it
was
so
bad
and
after
that
I
was
limping.
It
is
a
challenge
and
I
want
to
accept.
Let’s
see
what
all
injuries
my
body
can
cope
with.
It
is
not
easy,
sometimes
you
feel
like
giving
up.”

Happy
in
my
space,
god
bless
him
–
Saina
Nehwal
accepts
Siddharth’s
apology

Saina
said
sitting
on
the
fence,
waiting
for
injuries
to
heal
is
something
which
really
bothered
her.

“The
mental
part
is
very
difficult
because
tournaments
are
happening,
players
are
winning
and
I
am
just
sitting
and
watching
them
play.
It
is
a
challenge
but
let
us
fight.
May
be
there
are
some
good
days
ahead.”

Saina
had
returned
to
action
at
the
Thomas
and
Uber
Cup
Final
in
Aarhus,
Denmark
in
October
but
had
to
retire
midway
in
the
round-robin
match
against
Spain’s
Clara
Azurmendi
due
to
what
she
thought
was
a
niggle
in
the
groin
region.

She
played
in
Denmark
but
again
withdrew
midway
into
the
second
game
of
the
first-round
match
at
the
French
Open.

“It
was
about
three
issues:
I
tore
my
cartilage,
I
had
issues
with
patella
and
there
was
one
more
meniscus,
or
something
which
got
really
irritated.
The
knee
went
through
a
lot
of
trauma.
Finally
a
stage
came
when
I
couldn’t
walk
after
French
open,”
said
the
31-year-old.

“I
was
worried
about
by
groin
but
I
didn’t
know
that
my
knee
was
in
big
trauma
and
when
I
came
back
and
did
MRI,
my
doctor
was
like:
‘I
don’t
think
you
can
go
for
world
championship
or
play
till
end
of
December’.”

The
London
Olympics
bronze
medallist
said
she
is
“happy
with
her
rehab”
and
hope
to
regain
full
fitness
by
March.

“I
had
good
practice
for
7-8
days
before
this
event
but
I
wasn’t
expecting
to
play
India
Open.
I
hope
I
can
get
some
more
practice
sessions
on
court.
I
am
happy
to
play
in
India,
so
let’s
see
how
many
rounds
I
can
progress.

“I
am
60-70
%
now.
I
will
have
to
go
with
weight
training.
I
can’t
sit
back
even
a
day.
I
would
say
by
January-end,
I
will
get
back
to
my
full
physical
fitness
level.
We
have
one
month
in
February
for
training
as
next
events
are
in
March,
so
I
will
get
4-5
week
for
training
on
court
as
well.”

Asked
if
individual
coaching
is
the
way
to
go
for
Indian
shuttlers,
Saina
said
it
depends
on
individuals
but
it
does
help
if
you
have
one
in
an
individual
sport
like
badminton.

“Personal
coaching
is
good
for
individual
sports,
where
everyone
is
playing
at
highest
level.
Carolina
(Marin),
Tai
Tzu
(Ying)
all
have
individual
coaches,
they
know
where
to
work
on,
give
more
time,
so
definitely
improvement
chances
are
better.

“But
some
player
are
good
in
group
training.
I
have
seen
(Kidambi)
Srikanth
and
B
Sai
Praneeth
are
good
in
that
but
I
feel,
you
need
individual
trainer,
coaches.”