Saina: ‘My knee still hurts when I play on the hard courts’

The Olympic bronze medallist had suffered a career-threatening knee injury ahead of the Rio Olympics and had to undergo a surgery in August last year, but she still fought back to win the Malaysia Masters in January.

Published : Mar 27, 2017 17:19 IST , New Delhi

Saina will be one of the favourites at the Indian Super Series, an event she won two years back to achieve the world No. 1 ranking.
Saina will be one of the favourites at the Indian Super Series, an event she won two years back to achieve the world No. 1 ranking.
lightbox-info

Saina will be one of the favourites at the Indian Super Series, an event she won two years back to achieve the world No. 1 ranking.

On a comeback trail, Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal today said her knee still hurts sometimes and a fear of injury has gripped her mind.

The Olympic bronze medallist had suffered a career-threatening knee injury ahead of the Rio Olympics and had to undergo a surgery in August last year, but she still fought back to win the Malaysia Masters in January.

“I never knew what surgery was but after I went through it I realised how tough returning from it can be. You lose movements, touch and again to get back to your full fitness is extremely tough,” Saina told reporters on the eve of the India Open.

“It takes more time than usual, you can’t straight away recover and win. It is not only physical but mental too. Even now there is always this tension and fear that what if I again get injured.

“Even in All England that match I lost, it was 50-50, it could have gone anywhere. So I know I will be back to my best form with time.”

The world No. 8 Indian will be one of the favourites at the Indian Super Series, an event she won two years back to achieve the world No. 1 ranking.

Ahead of the seventh edition of the tournament, Saina said: “Delhi has always been special to me. I won the Commonwealth Games gold here and then won the Indian Open in 2015 and became the world No. 1. So everything has been special for me. It is great to play in front of home crowd.

“Of course the competition has become tougher and tougher at India Open. So all I can say is I will give my best and hope to do well. Good thing is there is no expectation. When I stared there was less expectation and now also there is less pressure, which is good,” she added.

Olympic silver medallist P. V. Sindhu will be the cynosure of all eyes when she starts her campaign at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

“I am looking forward to the event. It will be an exciting week, the competition is tough and I will give my best,” the world No. 5 said.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment