'Saina needs to deal with pressure situations better'

 Vimal Kumar cut a despondent figure as he watched his ward Saina Nehwal slump to a straight-games defeat in the World Championships final. Candid as ever, the former international said it was a lack of initiative and a defensive approach that cost Saina the match against World No 1 Carolina Marin.

The Indian star looked subdued in her encounter against Marin who has beaten her in the All England Championships earlier this year. Vimal admitted that Marin enjoys a mental edge over Saina but stressed the Indian would have to break the mental shackles on her own.

“It was very disappointing. Tactically she was fine but I felt the spirit was missing. She was reluctant to come to net and was content defending. She just didn’t take enough initiative. You will find pressure at this stage and you will have to cope with it. The player who can deal with it better emerges with success. Marin in her approach and body language was way better. She was the better player today. Saina was jaded and didn’t play to her potential,” Vimal told Deccan Herald.

“She was more concerned about what Marin’s strengths were rather than her own.”
During his year-long partnership with Saina, Vimal has worked hard in instilling her the confidence of beating the top Chinese players. The result was evident when Saina beat Wang Yihan in the last two meetings after losing to her nine times. “You will always find players coming and getting the better of you. You will have to find the way to overcome them and Saina will have to as well. Even when she was leading today, she was not confident. She misjudged the shuttle at the baseline at a crucial point. You can’t be looking for easy points at this stage,” said Vimal.

“As coach I will have to be hard on her while also motivate her. Such losses are very tough to digest. Work wise, preparation-wise I never had complaints with Saina. There have been a lot of positives from the tournament and she has improved. But she needs to produce a better performance under pressure,” he said.

“I spoke to her and she was naturally very disappointed. But she is a tough girl. After her All England loss, she called me within two days and was ready to practice. It is going to a tough one year ahead leading to the Rio Olympics.”