It has been a tough year for Saina Nehwal, highlighted by a painful knee injury which flared up during the Rio Olympics and required surgery in August.
The gutsy shuttler, however, was back in action in November for the China Open and Hong Kong Open. Though still some time away from reaching the desired fitness levels, Saina was confident of being at her best by the end of January.
She reached the quarterfinals in her comeback event and was happy with the results. “In matters of fitness there are no miracles. It takes a little bit of time. I am happy I played in two quarterfinals on my return. I feel by January end I should be in good shape. Let us see how it goes,” said Saina during the 100th All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship at the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday.
Looking back at 2016, Saina said: “It was a good year. It was okay and bad also. I had won the Australian Open, then surgery happened. But I am a player and these things happen. It is not in my hand. I have learnt a lot during this phase, where I need to get strong, which all areas I have to work on. I am feeling very confident.
“In the coming year I will be picking tournaments depending on my fitness levels. Fitness is very important for me as of now, so that is what I am looking at.
Since there are no major tournaments, I am not worried. As the fitness improves, the results will also be good.”
In her absence, P V Sindhu had scaled appreciable heights in world badminton, including the Olympic silver medal.
Saina, however, was quick to point out: “The Indian badminton is doing very well overall. Along with Sindhu, Sameer also played Hong Kong Super Series final. So all of them are doing extremely well. Badminton is doing very well in India, and that’s why we are getting the results.”