Indian shuttle queen Saina Nehwal’s comeback at the China Open Superseries Premier did not last long but the former World No.1 gave enough glimpses of her fighting spirit and resilience on Wednesday. The 26-year-old managed to grab a game in her 16-21, 21-19, 14-21 loss to the 13th ranked Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in the first round battle that lasted 59 minutes.
Considering this was the Indian’s first match after a three-month hiatus that saw her having a knee surgery, it indeed bode well for the future.
Any comeback is tough and always presents lots of doubts to the player. Saina too was no exception and right before embarking on her return to the circuit, she had been apprehensive about how her body will respond. Even her coach Vimal Kumar had emphasized on the fact that a few matches are needed to get back the feel of high-level competition.
But after the effort she put up at the China Open, no matter how brief her stay was, the star shuttler herself is satisfied. She clawed her way back from 4-11 down at the break in the second game to eke it out 21-19, which was so reminiscent of Saina’s glory days. And that itself is an extremely positive sign which should put to rest any uncertainty that still lingered in anyone’s mind about her.
The World No. 6 bared her mind in an exclusive chat to Sportskeeda and clearly said that she is ‘feeling good’ about her fitness. She hopes to get back to her best as soon as possible and also sounded excited about donning the shoes for the Awadhe Warriors in the upcoming season of the Premier Badminton League.
“Even though I lost early I am quite satisfied with the way I played and gave a tough fight playing against a top player,” said the 2014 China Open champion.
“I am feeling good about my fitness level and it will only get better for me from here. I am quite confident of getting back to my best soon and really look forward to play the Premier Badminton League for my team, Awadhe Warriors,” Nehwal added.
That she is feeling so confident is all that her legion of fans needs to hear. Being the diligent player that Nehwal is known to be, it is now just a matter of time before the Indian trailblazer gets back to where she belongs!
