Saina Nehwal is not finished yet! She still has some fight left in the tank and will keep fighting until her body stops supporting her.
The former world No. 1, who has been going through a tough few years mainly due to a knee injury, registered a 21-17, 12-21, 21-19 win over world No. 24 Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark. Of. match. “I have always been a fighter, I like to challenge,” said the 32-year-old from Hyderabad.
“Look, after losing so many matches, my brain stops working sometimes. You are losing and losing but today I was not thinking about match points. It has been giving me stress in the last few matches. Was because I was not pulling matches. Had confidence. Today lacking but I am happy that I played without knee problem. It has gradually improved over the last few months.
The last few years
Nehwal, whose best result in 2022 was a quarter-final at the Singapore Open, said winning the first round match was important to regain self-belief.
“I was getting tough players in the first round. I had to get out of such matches so that I can gain confidence and play against the best players. At the moment, I can be good against the top players.” Playing well against top players. So, I think, with coverage, pace and shots, I can match the top players. I have improved my movement, and it has made a big difference. I’m improving my knee and my body. The better my knees are, the better my lungs are.”
Asked what has been the toughest in the last few years, Saina said, “Nothing, I mean, however, people will talk about you not performing and that is natural. If I talk about people I think I have.” To stop playing badminton. I was just thinking about myself.”
“I wanted to find a solution. The issue was small, it wasn’t something I couldn’t fight. I felt it didn’t hurt so much that I couldn’t find a solution. If I can If I can’t, there is always the option of stopping badminton,” Nehwal said.
when is the time
Saina said she will quit the sport if her body fails to cope with the harsh conditions. “Sportsmen like to play, when the body says ‘no’ you have to stop. There are some players who feel they have achieved enough, they stop but otherwise you always feel like doing well does and when I feel that I stop too.” ” He said.
Asked if there is anything left to achieve, Saina said, “Isn’t it good to win?” This is also good.
“Look, I don’t have any motivation or feeling that I can become a coach. I can see future in Guru (RMV Gurusaidutt), (Parupalli) Kashyap and (HS) Prannoy. They all have that coaching ability, But I’m not.” I don’t have that either. So, I thought, let me play for a few more years,” he concluded.
In an illustrious career spanning over a decade, Saina Nehwal has been one of the best players to win more than 24 international titles.
(Inputs PTI)