Olympic and World Championships medalist Saina Nehwal has been struggling with injuries this season. The former World No.1 is currently recovering from inflammation in her knees. Battling fitness, the 33-year old has hinted at retirement while addressing a press conference on Wednesday.
“My body is not doing well. I don’t know how long I can carry on but I will give it my all,” she said while speaking at a press conference in Delhi organised by Harvest Gold on Wednesday.
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Saina Nehwal revealed that she is currently recovering from knee inflammation. “Three to four months ago I was playing Singapore Open. My knees and cartilage started to hurt. So, consulted a doctor and my physio is also working on it. My knees showed inflammation. I do not want to play half-hearted.”
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She has been out of action since June this year that saw her slip down to 55th position in the recently updated Women’s singles rankings. Saina was also queried about a possibility of switching to coaching in the near future. The London 2012 Olympic Bronze medallist however said that she is not open to coaching in future. “Not thinking about coaching. For me playing is easy and coaching is the toughest job,” she added.
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Saina Nehwal will miss the upcoming Asian Games. She did not feature in the selection trials due to fitness issues. Saina won the bronze medal in the previous edition of the Asian Games in Women’s Singles.
Notably, Saina has not been in good form ever since the last year. In 2022, she played 13 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour tournaments and only reached quarterfinals once in Singapore Open. She bowed out of other tournaments mostly in first round.
This year as well, she has played six BWF World Tour tournaments, getting three first-round exits and three second-round exits. Her last BWF World Tour title win was in January 2019, when she won the Indonesia Masters.
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