Saina got her injury during WC 2015. She should have skipped the SS tournaments immediately following. She delayed the healing process as a result. It was Saina's choice to make herself available for the PBL auction. She had the power to say no and stay away like she did for the South Asian Games, Asian Team Championships which also had pressure to play. It is not easy to say no to $100000, but I won't hold it against her. It should be noted that her injury has healed, her fitness is not up to the required level. Vimal Kumar is positive about her raising her fitness level by the end of the month.
I somewhere read that she isn't going to play even the UC! I don't remeber the site and tried searching but to no avail! Can anyone of you clearify?elaborate?
Must be speculation! Uber Cup is a long way off. Players normally decide after the April SS & SSP events. There is no official word from Saina or her coach. They are looking at one tournament at a time starting with the All England tournament.
I will be surprised if Saina manages to win even a Single tournament(high standard) this year. Her athletic abilities are going downhill combined with the recent injury she has suffered,the fear factor is gone I believe. Players with better weapons will be lurking in every single tournament.Good luck to her.
Well I thought the same after disastrous 2014.. But then, she found solution of the fitness puzzle and did satisfactorily well in 2015, infact managed to 9 weeks at the top of the tree! Frankly speaking I don't expect any stellar performances at the AE but by the IND open she should be gliding back
Iets hope that's not true.... Surely wannabe Padma Vibhushan Sushree Nehwal Jee has to find time to represent the flag, lest we hear a Twitter tirade..... P.S. :-- Don't come all guns blazing at me plz.... Take it with a pinch of salt and and add that to a soupfull of laughter. Hopefully she will play, Ruth will be #3, JG will channel her inner Leander, AP will hold firm and China/Japan/Korea will have an off day in the final
Interview with Saina Nehwal Feb 25, 2016 Link: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/not-scared-of-zika-want-to-do-india-proud-at-rio-olympics-says-saina-nehwal/1/605015.html You have always done India proud. But you were missed at the South Asian Games and in Hyderabad during the Asian Championship. Any specific reasons for skipping these tournaments? I love representing India in any event. I was suffering from an ankle injury in December but I still played in the Indian Premier Badminton League. It took me to Lucknow and I was struck down with a viral infection. I recovered after returning home but I had to get back there again and this time I caught the cold. Consequently, I asked to exexmpted from the Lucknow Grand Prix. Later in the South Asian Games, we had enough young players and I was not fully cured so I asked for exemption again. Then came the Asian Championship and I was just on the threshold of recovery so again I stayed away by seeking exemption from the maiden Asian Team Championship in Hyderabad. Now what are the next big events you are concentrating on? The All England and Swiss Open Championships. Thank goodness, I am recovering fast and I hope to be completely fit soon. Saina clarifies many of our doubts. Click the above link to read the full interview.
Are you really comparing JG with Lea, I disagree unless you are talking only about the physique Ashwini is fragile she needs JG for mental support but she also want atleast a partner who can do 35% of the job and doesn't behave like a extra pumped up child who takes all the credit and plays only those shots which comes to her FH at net!! I'll pray that the last sentence turns out to be a fact
If we take away team events and the WC bronze away from JG, we are left with just a Manu Attri.... I mean OK LP does great outside DC and multi-discipline events too, but at those he used to be just a freakin' beast.
^" we are left with just a Manny Attri" I wonder if JG is one of his idols! I mean not only performances wise, but also Photography, getting photographed and even the physique he is walking on the JG's path
Earlier I used to take out my grief in this thread when Saina lost. But lately this has kind of turned into a sort of Saina bash thread and off-topic thread. So I don't post here very often. But here I am back. So, Saina's (and India's) all england is over for this year. TTY played a wonderful match. But as Steen Pederson pointed out, Saina seemed to have given up even before the match. Saina has serious mental issues. In one of her interviews she said she doesn't even like badminton that much. She just likes to win. I thought that was a strange and sad answer. If you concentrate only on winning, you often lose without giving your best. Look at TTY - she was focused on the game, not on winning. Saina was focused on winning. I am OK with it if Saina loses, but I hate it when you give up before you have given 110% till the end. And I hate it when you don't believe you can do it. I said yesterday also that Saina has to smash more. Steen pederson seemed to agree with me. A creative player like TTY needs time to show her deception. The way to beat her is not to give her time. Attack her, keep her on the edge.
Saina Nehwal India's Princess, lone warrior and most precious badminton jewel has the odds against her today. She has a physical battle and mental battle, on both counts she is not on top. She will be in better shape by May but the All England doesn't happen then! I admire her determination, grit, passion and spirit. Irrespective of the result, she has my constant support. India needs her to do a mini miracle to keep the flag flying. Will she falter or rise to the occasion? Go Saina! (My post before the match) Like you and many others I am disappointed and sad with the way Saina played. I agree with your point on having the self belief to win a match. Without self belief no match can be won. Saina actually did better than I expected. After a long break, she was clearly rusty and her fitness is not yet at the required level. I thought she would lose in Round 1 or 2. She made it to the quarterfinals with determination. As nilesh123 said, she is going to lose a lot of points. She can gain some points at the Swiss GPG. She can make the quarters, but she can lose before that. She will lose points at the India SS with the full force of WS coming. She will lose points at Malaysia SSP as well. Yes, she can expect a tough draw at Rio. But now she can only concentrate on getting into top fitness and becoming match fit. But you need to be physically at your best and match fit to have the self belief to win. Which unfortunately was not the case. I expect her to be in good shape by the UBER cup in May. That is when we will see a more determined and lethal Saina. Tai Tzu Ying and Li Xuerui are clearly a nemesis and mental block that Saina can overcome but only when she is at top fitness and match fit. Saina has weak ankles, a permanent medical condition. So there is a limit to how much load she can handle. She knows how much she can push herself without getting injured. She needs to mix her attack with fast drops, clears, angles along with some deception. I remain hopeful that Saina will comeback strong! P.S. Airos, Please don't stop expressing yourself on this forum! Your views, thoughts are important as well as from other people.
its so unfortunate that saina's injury came at such an important juncture and she still hasn't recovered completely, the world is catching up and she really needs to find out the x factor in her game. .she should really learn from nozomi, nozomi is not tall enough but she has got an array of shots which won her the all england today. .but i am very much optimistic about saina after all the kind of worker she is, she won't let go.
Glad someone agree with me. Saina has permanent weak ankles? I didn't know that. What are your sources? [MENTION=92703]arjevo[/MENTION] She may not have been 100%, but she certainly did not look unfit to me. May be a bit rusty, but she looked fit.
Saina's problem has appeared a few times in Times of India Print Edition. I found one link. 2012 Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/london-olympics-2012/news/Saina-Nehwal-Small-feet-but-big-feats/articleshow/15358910.cms An Excerpt: They may be nimble and look strong but Saina Nehwal's feet are unfit to be part of a top athlete's anatomy.[/B] Experts who examined Saina way back in 2006, told coach Pullela Gopichand that his ward possesses very small feet and because of that her body is prone to injuries. It would be very difficult to keep her injury-free, the doctors said. The size of Saina's feet is about 25.5 cm in length while their width is asymmetrical from toe to heel. "To hold the wide body frame that Saina possesses, one needs longer feet. Due to this peculiar condition it is very difficult for Saina to maintain fitness throughout a season," Gopichand said. It's because of this condition, diagnosed later as a form of 'Plantar Fasciitis', Saina suffered numerous injuries between 2008 and 2009 and another set of injuries slowed her back again in 2011. "A player with that condition has to be properly managed by her team. Moreover, in a sport like badminton where you need to depend a lot on your legs, this could be a major handicap," Gopi said. But thanks to her unyielding attitude and fighting qualities, Saina works that extra yard to defeat this condition, Gopi added.
If it is true that Saina achieved so much despite such a big handicap then she really deserves a lot of credit. Saina's movements do look a little unathletic compared to most of the other top players, including Sindhu.
I read something about her injuries in TOI once, but the size of the feet and asymmetry in worth is a news to me! Yeah her shoes are surely very small size, I can't help but to notice it when she tie her laces 'weirdly'.. I hope no more injuries, this is an imp year l, or any athlete of her standard
