Saina Nehwal, an Olympic and World Championships medalist in shuttle, has stated that she has been unable to compete due to knee inflammation. “I was competing in the Singapore Open three to four months ago. My cartilage and knees started to hurt. I therefore saw a doctor, and my physiotherapist is also addressing it. There was inflammation in my knees. I don’t want to play around,” Saina declared at the Global Race 2023 press conference on Wednesday in Gurugram.
She also said that she is not open to coaching in future, calling it the “toughest job”.
“Not thinking about coaching. For me playing is easy and coaching is the toughest job,” she added.
Nehwal is missing out on Asian Games due to an injury.
Notably, Saina has not been in good form in 2020s. Last year, 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.
She is currently ranked at world number 55 in women’s singles competition.
Her last BWF World Tour title win was in January 2019, when she won the Indonesia Masters.
