What's the story?
There's good news for Indian badminton fans as the Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap is well on his way to complete his recovery from his ongoing shoulder injury. The 30-year-old posted on his official Facebook page that he has joined the national camp and has begun his first week of full training.
However, he is not rushing things and still needs to give a couple of weeks to the injured shoulder to let it get back to full strength. Currently, he has opted for a lighter routine and it will be only after the next two weeks that he will be able to play all strokes.
"I've joined the national camp and it's my first week of full training. My shoulder will need another two weeks to be ready to play all strokes. As of now it's only clears n drop shots n defence routines," the former World No. 6 wrote.
In case you didn't know...
Kashyap hurt his shoulder while diving on the forecourt to return a shot against HS Prannoy in the Premier Badminton League final match between the Chennai Smashers and the Mumbai Rockets in January. He ultimately lost that men's singles match in three close games, although his Chennai team went on to win the title by beating the Mumbai franchise, 4-3.
The heart of the matter
Kashyap has been having a tough few months because of persistent injuries. His woes started at the end of 2015 during the French Open Superseries in October where he sustained a calf muscle tear.
On recovering from that injury he suffered an abdominal strain while playing at the Syed Modi International in January next year. There was no respite for the Pullela Gopichand protege who then suffered a knee injury at the German Open in March. It kept him out of action for six months as a surgery was required and it also robbed him a chance to play at the Rio Olympics.
As a consequence his ranking plummeted, sending him out of the top 100. It was only in December that Kashyap looked to have got back in his groove when he reached the semi-finals of the Korea Masters. But his comeback was cut short due to this latest injury which was revealed to be a right shoulder dislocation apart from a tear in the labrum.
What's next?
It's a pity that Kashyap will not be able to participate at the India Open Superseries scheduled to be held next week. He should make his comeback during the packed April calendar which has two Superseries events, and a Grand Prix Gold tournament, apart from the Badminton Asia Championships.
Author's Take
The continuous injuries have prevented Kashyap from being consistent or make an attempt to get back to where he once was. Despite the hardships, there has been no dearth of passion from the badminton ace. Let us hope his commitment to his sport is rewarded and he gets a chance to be back at his best soon.
